Twenty-eight year old Las Vegas Raider defensive lineman Carl Nassib, a six-year NFL veteran, has come out as gay, making him the first active player in league history to acknowledge he’s gay, NFL.com reports.
The 6’7″, 275-pound lineman posted on social media about his sexual orientation. This is his second season with Las Vegas; he had previously played two seasons each with the Cleveland Browns and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was a third round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2016.
“What’s up people,” Nassib posted on Instagram. “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.”