Carl Nassib made history on Monday by becoming the first active NFL player to announce publicly that he is gay.
The Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman shared the news in an Instagram video on Monday evening. He also revealed that he would be dedicating $100,000 to the Trevor Project, an organization dedicated to suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youth.
“What’s up people,” Nassib said in the video, per OutSports. “I’m at my house in West Chester, Pennsylvania. 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 finally feel comfortable getting it off my chest. I really have the best life, the best family, friends and job a guy can ask for.
“I’m a pretty private person so I hope you guys know that I’m not doing this for attention. 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 also released a written statement in the same Instagram post. He is the first active player to come out publicly and showed an incredible amount of bravery in doing so.
— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) June 21, 2021
Nassib, 28, is headed into his sixth NFL season, and his second with the Raiders. He previously spent time with the Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers before he landed in Las Vegas. He has 20.5 career sacks in 73 career games.
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