History was made on Monday, and it was done by a former Penn State football player. Former Penn State defensive end Carl Nassib, now a member of the Las Vegas Raiders in the NFL, took to his Instagram account to announce he is gay. Nassib is the first active openly gay player in the NFL.
“I have agonized over this moment for the last 15 years, ” Nassib said in a written statement posted to his Instagram account on Monday. “Only until recently, thanks to my family and friends, especially Connor, Cason, and Francis, did it seem possible for me to say publicly and proudly that I’m gay.”
Nassib shared a video message on his Instagram account as well to make his announcement and to say he is donating $100,000 to The Trevor Project, an organization focused on providing suicide prevention services to members of the LGBTQ community.
“I feel an immense responsibility to help in any way I can,” Nassib said in his video message.
Nassib was a standout defensive end at Penn State, earning consensus All-American in 2015. Nassib is also Penn State’s only Lott IMPACT Trophy winner in program history. He also earned First-team All-Big Ten honors and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year during the 2015 season.
Nassib went on to be a third-round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns. After two seasons in Cleveland, Nassib was waived by the Browns in early September 2018 and picked up a day later by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With the Bucs in 2018, Nassib recorded a career-high 6.5 sacks and 12 tackles for a loss.
Nassib signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in March 2020 with a three-year contract.
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