Las Vegas Raiders DE Carl Nassib has become the first active NFL player in history to announce that he is gay.
Nassib, 28, is entering his 6th NFL season.
“What’s up people,” Nassib announced on his Instagram page. “I’m at my house in West Chester Pennsylvania. 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 finally feel comfortable getting it off my chest. I really have the best life, the best family, friends and job a guy can ask for.
“I’m a pretty private person so I hope you guys know that I’m not doing this 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 not necessary, but until then I will do my best and my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting and 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.”
After playing collegiately at Penn State where he earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year (2015), Nassib was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2016. He has amassed 143 total tackles and 20.5 sacks.
