Last Vegas Raiders defensive lineman Carl Nassib is the first active NFL player to come out as gay. (Associated Press)
Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman Carl Nassib made history today (Monday, June 21) when he came out as a gay man, becoming the first active player in league history to come out publicly.
Nassib made the announcement in a video he posted to Instagram. In the video, Nassib, 28, said, “What’s up, people? I’m Carl Nassib. I’m at my house here in West Chester, Penn. 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 enough to get it off my chest.”
In a statement accompanying the video, Nassib stressed that he is a private person and did not come out for publicity, adding, “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’m going to do my best and do my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting, that’s compassionate.”
Nassib also said that he would be donating $100,000 to The Trevor Project.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said “The NFL family is proud of Carl for courageously sharing his truth today. Representation matters. 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.”
Both the Las Vegas Raiders and the athletic department at Nassib’s alma mater, Penn State, expressed support for Nassib via Twitter. The Penn State tweet said, “Nittany Nation is proud of you, Carl,” while the Raiders tweeted simply, “Proud of you, Carl.”
Nassib played two years for the Cleveland Browns and two years for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before joining the Las Vegas Raiders before the 2020 season. During his pro career, he has played in 73 games, starting in 37 of those games. He has had one interception, which he returned for 23 yards. He has defended 16 passes, forced three fumbles and recovered one fumble. Nassib has racked up 20.5 sacks and has 143 combined tackles, including 36 tackles for a loss.
Michael Sam, a Texas native, was the first openly gay player drafted into the NFL. A star defensive end for the Missouri Tigers in college — he was a consensus All-American and the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year his senior year — Sam came out publicly as gay at the end of his senior year season in 2014 and was drafted a few weeks later.
But Sam never had the chance to play a regular season game in the NFL and played only one regular season game in the Canadian Football League before leaving the Montreal Alouettes and then announcing he was stepping away from pro football completely for mental health reasons.
— Tammye Nash
