Las Vegas Raiders DE Carl Nassib Comes Out As First Active Openly Gay NFL Player

Sports

The NFL has its first active openly gay player as the Las Vegas Raiders Defensive End Carl Nassib came out in a video posted on his Instagram account. 

Raiders DE Carl Nassib becomes the first active NFL player to come out as gay.

“I hope that one day videos like this, and the whole coming out process, are just not necessary." pic.twitter.com/pB1VbSwhvo

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 21, 2021

In the video taken from his home in Pennsylvania, Nassib said, “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.”

He goes on to say, ‘I’m a pretty private person, so I hope you guys know that I’m not doing this for attention.”

Being the first openly gay active NFL player will carry some weight. Nassib believes that, going forward, this video will help break the stigma of coming out in professional sports. “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.”

As the first active player to come out, he’s setting an example for future athletes who still feel pressure to hide their sexuality. “But until then, you know, I’m gonna do my best and do my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting, that’s compassionate.”

Nassib then announced he would be donating $100,000 to The Trevor Project. This organization provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ young people under 25.