Carl Nassib confirms he has a boyfriend – Outsports
Hey gays: we can stop conjuring up ways to seduce Carl Nassib via Instagram DM. The Las Vegas Raiders lineman has confirmed he’s seeing somebody.
“I just wanted to be someone’s number one priority, and I couldn’t have that,” Nassib said in a recent interview on teammate Darren Waller’s podcast. “So that was the one thing where I was like, ‘Man, I really f—king want that.’ But I got that now, so it’s good.”
In Waller’s podcast, Nassib opens up about coming out and what life has been like since. Even though Nassib made history, he says he’s still uncomfortable giving advice to others. As an example, he referenced his boyfriend, who wasn’t out to anybody when they first met.
“When I met my boyfriend, he wasn’t even out to his family,” Nassib said. “He was asking me for advice and I was like, ‘Dude, I’m just supportive. F—. I don’t know.’”
Nassib’s conversation with Waller is illuminating and marks the first time he’s spoken at length about his life as the only out gay active NFL player. While we’ve written about the lack of a media circus that surrounds Nassib, he says it still hasn’t been an easy couple of months.
“The answer you would probably expect is, ‘Oh my God this weight was lifted off my shoulders.’ [But] It is a little more stressful, I will say,” Nassib remarked. “Being the only out gay guy in the NFL is a little stressful. It’s gotten so much easier since camp. I remember the first three days of camp, I went out to practice, and just felt like I was suffocating, and the whole field was spinning.”
Even though Nassib has been publicly supported, there still is a lot of responsibility that comes with being the only one. As he said, “What other f— gay dude has to come out to his entire f— business?”
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It’s hard to argue with that point. Up until June 21, Nassib says he was living an “amazing life” where he was out to close friends and family and carried on without scrutiny. Coming out publicly was a selfless act. But as Nassib acknowledges, it was “something that needed to be done.”
Representation is the most powerful tool we have when it comes to fighting stereotypes. In just three weeks, Nassib has already abolished the ridiculous “distraction myth,” showing teams can win with openly gay players. (The Raiders are 3-0 and gearing up for a big Monday night matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers.)
That’s why Nassib bringing up his boyfriend is also significant. He’s not just coming out and “no commenting.” Instead, Nassib is willing to talk about the most intimate aspects of life as a gay man, and on a teammate’s podcast, no less.
His words eradicate another myth: that gay athletes have to keep their private and professional lives separate.
“Oh, I met an awesome guy,” Nassib said. “He’s the best.”
And he’s not afraid to tell the world about him.