Mason Darrow, Princeton OL, Comments on Coming out as Gay

Two years after revealing to his teammates that he is gay, Princeton University offensive lineman Mason Darrow came out publicly Tuesday as part of a profile by Cyd Zeigler of OutSports.com.

According to Zeigler, Darrow made the decision to go public in an effort to empower other gay football players. After attempting to hide his sexual orientation for so long, he felt a great deal of relief after he came out to teammate Caleb Slate in 2013.

"Telling my teammates was the best decision I have ever made," Darrow said.

The Lake Barrington, Illinois, native essentially posed as a straight man for quite some time due to his fear that being gay didn't fit with the football culture, per Zeigler.

"I felt like I had to keep appearances up," Darrow said. "I didn't want to arouse suspicion that I might be gay, so I went along with the flow and did what I thought was expected of me."

Darrow, who is now a junior offensive tackle for the FCS school, was originally reluctant to tell anyone because he wasn't sure if he would be accepted, according to Zeigler.

"I felt trapped. I wasn't happy. I wanted to tell people, but I thought there would be a lot of animosity," Darrow said. "There are a lot of guys from the South on the team. I wasn't sure how people would react to it."

His teammates have been extremely supportive since he came out, with defensive back Dorian Williams among them:

"

Nothing but support for my fellow teammate! http://t.co/agJhwZzj3H via @outsports

— Dorian Williams (@DWilliamsPU) September 15, 2015"

Former University of Missouri defensive end Michael Sam famously came out as gay following his time at Mizzou in 2014, but Darrow is currently the only openly gay player in Division I football, per Zach Barnett of College Football Talk.

Darrow showed a great deal of courage by deciding to live openly despite his previous reservations, and the fact that it has worked out so well for him could encourage anyone else considering doing the same thing.

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