On Monday, Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib came out as the NFL’s first-ever active gay player with an announcement on Instagram.
“What’s up people?” Nassib said. “I’m at my house here in West Chester, Pennsylvania. I just want 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 enough to get it off my chest. I really have the best life, I’ve got the best family, friends and job a guy could ask for.
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“I’m a pretty private person so I hope you guys know that I’m really not doing this for attention. 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 do my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting, that’s compassionate and I’m going to start by donating $100,000 to the Trevor Project.”
Nassib, who is the brother of former New York Giants quarterback Ryan Nassib, quickly received a wave of support across social media and the NFL.
“Representation matters,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “We share his hope that someday soon statements like his will no longer be newsworthy as we march toward full equality for the LGBTQ+ community. We wish Carl the best of luck this coming season.”
Giants running back Saquon Barkley also took to Twitter to show his support for Nassib.
Much respect brudda ✊🏾 https://t.co/1G2ewVOWje
— Saquon Barkley (@saquon) June 21, 2021
Former Missouri linebacker Michael Sam became the first-ever gay player drafted into the NFL back in 2014, but he was cut by the Rams at the end of training camp and never played a regular-season game.
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