Carl Nassib Becomes First Active NFL Player to Come Out as Gay – Democracy Now!

Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman Carl Nassib has become the first active NFL player to come out as gay. Nassib made the announcement Monday in a social media post.

Carl Nassib: “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. 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, you know, 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. They’re an incredible organization. They’re the number one suicide prevention service for LGBTQ youth in America. And they’re truly doing incredible things.”

Openly gay athletes are largely absent from major U.S. professional sports, with only a handful of active players ever coming out during their careers.