FRISCO, Texas _ Scott Frantz didn't plan on this.
Was it finally the right time?
He'd known since fifth grade and never told anyone. Now the Kansas State offensive lineman was about to tell all of his 100-plus teammates he was gay _ before he told his parents, before he told his other friends and before he even proved himself on the field. He was just finishing his redshirt season.
"He was sitting in his chair and Scott's a pretty religious guy and said he just felt God pushing him out of his chair," Kansas state right tackle Dalton Risner recalled at Big 12 media days. "He said that day at that moment it just felt like the right spot and God put him in that position."
Kansas State had brought a speaker into its players-only meeting that winter. The speaker's message: How often do you and your teammates _ who call yourselves a family, consider yourself a brotherhood _ actually ask "Hey man, what are you going through?" Do you really know each other?
A team reveal began. Guys shared home life struggles. Then it "escalated really, really quickly," Risner said. It was 18 months later, on camera with ESPN's Holly Rowe, that Frantz made the news public.
Frantz will be the first openly gay player to compete in the Big 12 when the Wildcats open their season on Sept. 2. He'll join Arizona freshman defensive end My-King Johnson as the first Power 5 college football players to do so, three years after Missouri's Michael Sam came out ahead of the NFL draft.
Sam was the first openly gay player to be drafted into the NFL when the Rams selected him in the seventh round (249th overall) in 2014. He spent time on practice squads, including the Cowboys', but never made an active NFL roster.
Frantz told ESPN he was sharing his story to help other gay athletes. He declined to comment for this article and will next speak to the media at Kansas State's media day Thursday.
"I spent my whole childhood hating myself because of who I was," Frantz said in the video, released July 13. "I was angry I was (gay) and I was depressed at times. I want to share my message to tell other people in my spot that you can be loved, can be accepted, can be who you are. It's just not a big deal anymore."
That message echoed across Big 12 media days. Though Wildcats coach Bill Snyder acknowledged there was "uncertainty" before the announcement, Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury applauded the decision and players' "openmindedness." Texas coach Tom Herman told SportsDay that Kansas State has fostered an environment all teams should strive to emulate, and a player coming out at Texas would be "just fine." Seven players from four schools spoke to SportsDay about Frantz's decision too.
