Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib is the first active NFL player to come out as openly homosexual.
Nassib made the announcement 7 years after former NFL player Michael Sam first opened the door for down low NFL players to walk through.
Carl Nassib took to social media on Monday, June 21, to share a video message in which he opened up about his sexuality.
“I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now, but I finally feel comfortable getting it off my chest. I really have the best life. I got the best family, friends and job a guy can ask for.”
Nassib, 28, confessed he “agonized over this moment for the last 15 years”, but he felt it was time to stand up to represent the LGBTQ community.
He kickstarted his new chapter by making a generous donation.
“I’m a pretty private person so I hope you guys know that I’m not doing this for attention,” he said.
“I just think that representation and visibility are so important. I actually hope that one day, videos like this and the whole coming out process are not necessary, but until then I will do my best and my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting and compassionate and I’m going to start by donating $100,000 to the Trevor Project. They’re an incredible organization, they’re the number one suicide-prevention service for LGBTQ youth in America.”
Nassib previously played for the Cleveland Browns and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before signing a three-year, $25 million contract with the Raiders in 2020.
