ALTOONA, Pa. -- Current Las Vegas Raiders and former Penn State defensive end Carl Nassib went somewhere no active NFL player has gone before, he came out as gay.
Nassib played at Penn State from 2011 to 2015 rising from walk-on to Big Ten player of the year during his time with the Nittany Lions. After being drafted in 2016 by the Cleveland Browns, Nassib went on to play with Tampa Bay before joining the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020, signing a three-year, $25 million contract.
This is a landmark day for the Nassib, who now is able to play without this in the back of his mind, but also for the NFL and LGBTQ+ community. Should Nassib play in a game for the Raiders this season, he would become the first openly gay man to do so in an NFL game.
Several NFL players have come out following their playing career, but none while they were on active rosters. Michael Sam had come out as gay prior to the 2014 NFL Draft, but failed to make the regular season roster.
"I just want to take a quick moment to say that I'm gay," Nassib said in his Instagram video. "I've been meaning to do this for a while now but I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest."
Nassib is a relatively private person who is known widely for the financial advice he gave to teammates on HBO's Hard Knocks while playing for the Browns.
"I really have the best life," Nassib said in the video. "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 I'm not doing this for attention, but I think representation matters."
The Raiders responded to Nassib's post with a black heart emoji and there's been an outpouring of support from those in the LGBTQ+ community and throughout the NFL including former teammates.
Much respect brudda ✊🏾 https://t.co/1G2ewVOWje
— Saquon Barkley (@saquon) June 21, 2021
There was even this statement from Raiders' owner Mark Davis:
Talked to Raiders own Mark Davis.
— Ed Graney (@edgraney) June 21, 2021
On Carl Nassib: "These are personal decisions. It's 2021 and he's a Raider. If he's happy, I'm happy. It takes courage. I thought we got to the point where this wasn't (a story). It doesn't change my opinion of him as a man or as a Raider."
Nassib also thanked both his teammates, coaches and the league for their support through this process.
"I would not have been able to do this without them. From the jump, I was greeted with the utmost respect and acceptance," Nassib wrote in his post. "I truly love my life and cannot understand why I have been blessed this much. I feel especially thankful for those to have had so much support when many who came before - and many even now - do not."
June is Pride Month for the LGBTQ+ community and along with his announcement Nassib also pledged a $100,000 donation to the Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization that focuses on suicide prevention programs for LGBTQ+ youth. LGBTQ+ youth are over five times more likely to commit suicide than their straight peers.
More to come.