Carl Nassib is the first active NFL player in history to come out as gay.
Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib announced on Monday he is gay, becoming the first active player in NFL history to come out.
“I just want to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay,” Nassib said in a video posted to Instagram from his home in Pennsylvania. “I’ve been meaning to do this for awhile now, but I finally feel comfortable enough to get this off my chest.”
Nassib said he is not making the announcement 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 just not necessary. But until then, I am going to do my best and do my part to cultivate a culture that is accepting, that’s compassionate and I’m going to start by donating $100,000 to the Trevor Project.”
The Trevor Project is a national group providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ youth.
In the comments of Nassib’s post, the Raiders — known for their silver and black color scheme — responded with three black hearts.
Nassib has been in the league since 2016. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns. After two seasons there and two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he spent last season with the Raiders.
Nassib has 143 career tackles, 20.5 sacks and three forced fumbles. Most of that came in Tampa. He’s played in 73 games, starting about half of them.
Michael Sam became the first openly gay player to then be drafted by an NFL team back in 2014. He was taken in the seventh round by the St. Louis Rams but failed to make the team. After some time on the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad, Sam had a short stint with the CFL’s Montreal Allouettes. He stepped away from football in 2015.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.