Carl Nassib is a 28-year-old defensive lineman for the Las Vegas Raiders. He’s also played for the Cleveland Browns and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He also played college football at Penn State. And now he’s the first active NFL player to come out as gay. Nassib made his announcement on social media in honor of this year’s Pride Month, and he’s also partnering with Trevor Project and donating $100,000 to their work.
On Monday, Raiders defensive lineman Carl Nassib became the first active N.F.L. player to publicly declare that he is gay.
“I just want to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay,” Nassib said in a video posted to his Instagram account. “I just think that representation and visibility are so important. I actually hope that like one day videos like this and the whole coming-out process are just not necessary, but until then I’m going to do my best and my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting, that’s compassionate,” before adding that he would donate $100,000 to The Trevor Project, a nonprofit group that focuses on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth.
“Sadly, I have agonized over this moment for the last 15 years,” he wrote in the same post.
Nassib, a five-year N.F.L. veteran who previously played with the Cleveland Browns and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said he was finally “comfortable getting it off my chest.” Nassib, 28, thanked his coaches, teammates and the N.F.L. for their support. “I would not be able to do this without them,” he wrote in his Instagram post.
In a statement Monday, Commissioner Roger Goodell said he was “proud of Carl for courageously sharing his truth today. Representation matters.”
The Raiders quickly showed their support for Nassib’s announcement, writing “proud of you, Carl” in a post to the team’s Twitter account that also included his original statement. Two of his teammates, defensive lineman Darius Stills and edge rusher Maxx Crosby, voiced their support by commenting under Nassib’s post that they were proud of him. DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the N.F.L. Players Association also said in a Twitter post that he and the union supported Nassib.
Nassib’s announcement, made during Pride Month, is a significant turning point for the N.F.L., and makes him the first openly gay active player in the league’s 101-year history.
The way Nassib worded everything, I think he had already come out to people in the Raiders organization, and probably people in the NFL organization too. Not that he owed anyone that, but it didn’t feel like Goodell was blindsided by the news, and it didn’t feel like the Raiders Org was caught off guard either. Still, it’s a huge moment – the first out-and-proud gay man in the NFL. I hope Fox News doesn’t latch on to this and put a target on his back. I kind of think conservative media has moved away from gay-bashing these days. They’ve moved on to trans-bashing and obsessing over Hunter Biden.
Photos courtesy of Getty, IG.
Yeah, I got the impression that he came out to his team mates before this and they accepted him. I think that’s what hit the most. He’s was so zen about it that I knew he had a good support system. That’s awesome.
Apparently he was a Trump supporter. Not sure how he reconciled that.
Gross
Well, Caitlyn Jenner and he can be friends since they have so much in common, including cognitive dissonance.
I think we know he reconciled it. He decided it was absolute tripe, hence, he found it within himself to COME OUT, proudly and very loudly, in a sea of alpha male jocks.
Yeah he would have talked to the team, his agent and the NFL before announcing that’s just how it’s done in organized sports these days. And there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s good to have support when making such a personal statement public. Hopefully him coming out would encourage other professional athletes to come out and the acceptance of gay athletes in sports.
Good for him!
Absolutely agree! Good for him for speaking his truth and being visible. Representation absolutely does matter.
Good for him! I look forward to the day when people don’t feel like they must come out because we’ve stopped automatically assuming everyone is heterosexual.
Word.
Wasn’t there someone drafted to the rams years ago who was out? No looked it up he was drafted but cut before the season started so I guess technically wasn’t in the nfl
Yes, Michael Sam. He never played in a regular season game though.
@Case, I agree with you. I hope that day comes.
Michael Sam was drafted but didn’t make the team.
Michael Sam. He was only on the preseason roster not the official 53 man roster, so they don’t count him. He was the first to be drafted though.
Good for him & good for everyone around him being (apparently) supportive. I’m happy he was able to come out in a way that felt safe for him.
Still side-eyeing the NFL for their total lack of support for Colin Kaepernick.
Yep, right there with you. Why is is the job of all of the rest of us to show professional sports, at large, that the way they are doing things is not remotely working out?
Thank you, Carl. You’ve done something really good. You have moved the conversation forward. You are my hero!
Good for him!
This is not inconsequential. I cannot imagine being a gay man in a locker room full of people who think gay slurs are appropriate for every situation. Carl Nassib has my lifelong support and admiration. It’s 2021, just think about how out of touch it is that this brave man is the FIRST! In 2021!