Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib becomes first active NFL player to come out as gay
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Carl Nassib, a defensive end for the Las Vegas Raiders, has come out as gay in a historic first.
Nassib, 28, on Monday said he made the announcement to increase visibility, and in doing so, made history as the first openly gay active player in the NFL.
The athlete, speaking from his home in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said he finally felt comfortable enough to "get it off my chest."
"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 is compassionate," Nassib said, announcing a $100,000 donation to the Trevor Project, a LGBTQ youth suicide prevention organization.
"The NFL family is proud of you, Carl," the league said Monday evening in a tweet, with the NFL logo in a rainbow for LGBTQ pride month.
Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib (94) leaves the field after an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 29, 2020, in Atlanta.John Bazemore / AP file
Nassib wrote that since coming out he has been "greeted with the utmost respect and acceptance."
Other NFL players have come out as gay after retiring, but none have done so while actively playing.
Michael Sam was the first openly gay NFL draftee in 2014, but, according to NBC Sports, was not on a regular season roster and never played a game after he was drafted onto the St. Louis Rams.
"Thank you for making history — as you said, representation is so important," tweeted Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, a LGBTQ rights organization.
Rep. David Cicilline, a Democrat from Rhode Island who is one of Congress' LGBTQ members, tweeted that Nassib "became an outstanding role model for millions of young LGBTQ+ Americans."
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Congratulations, indeed. We all have to chart our own destines through this life. Let him travel his path!
The first? Really? Just amazing that it took this long, but good for him. I’m sure he will inspire others.
The first "openly gay" active player in the NFL, definitely not the first gay active player in the NFL. But yes, good for him and hopefully it will inspire others to not feel like they have to hide who they are simply to appease some Neanderthal anti-gay fan base or NFL owners. Of course, his coming out will likely have adverse consequences that may mirror some of the consequences Kaepernick experienced after kneeling during the anthem. Even if they don't openly admit their homophobia, sadly some fans, teams and other players may start avoiding him or finding reasons not to offer contracts or extensions to him regardless of his abilities on the field. Hopefully that won't be true, but I really don't expect much from the NFL.
Why do i foresee more "illegal use of hands", penalties called on him, and a ton of other tasteless jokes, about tight ends and wide receivers.... i myself, can find them amusing while also offensive for others. I feel what ever it is that makes one happy while not infringing on the rights of others to be happy, is a righteous way to live, unfortunately, i've already probably offended, and i will apologize, but we all have to be able to take a joke and accept that some people will never accept, due to teachings that object, to such behaviors. Who are 'we' to Judge, as i prefer to be jury and executioner against actions that won't tolerate and will fight for those besieged by the ignorant intolerance that are used as a political and religious weapon, to control the masses of asses unable to realize as much. and i'll state right now, i'm sorry for my comments if they hurt or degraded any, but, i'm just stating my personal opinion, cause ones own perception of things, is all we all have, and not stated to offend, more so, to defend ones rights to pursue, whatever it be that does make one happy, without making others feel crappy.
Hi Ig'! 'Us' active and celibate homosexuals can give as good as we get. I want to be consistent about that upfront. Just watch one season (your pick) of, Ru Paul's Drag Race!
But this could be (doesn't have to be I guess) a celebration of sorts for this young man and the NFL that supports him coming out. It's a big "F-in" deal for young men everywhere to here, see, and experience sharing their screens and arenas with a known homosexual on the field of play! And the storied NFL RAIDERS no less!
The haranguing from some quarters is going to come and attempts to legislate it away (can they be far behind). . . and when all that does arrive,. . . how will those bitter jokes of frenemies and enemies land any different from the jokes of friends?
i did not think you would have been offended, as we've interacted before, and yes, i can most certainly be offensive, but obviously, not always my intent. I try and be tolerant of all, and the ones i'm least, are the ones with minds so small...
No sweat, 'player'! (Smile.)
Does this mean he can’t pat his teammates on the ass without a sexual harassment charge?
Actually, I steered away from this question, because of the "sentimentality" of the action for sports aficionados and enthusiasts. Many homosexuals wonder about the meaning of it anyway! And if no meaning is involved, why is there no meaning involved? (Never had it explained to me, or come out in conversation.)
Also, if patting another man's behind was not harassment before, how is it so now exactly?
So another gay guy comes out. So what? Big yawn!
The bigger question is....can he play, or will he a team distraction? How will things go in the locker room?
Michael Sam faded into obscurity after the picture of him kissing his boyfriend came out
So what? Big Yawn?
And immediately you launch a round of questioning? Greg Jones, which is it: So what? Big Yawn? Questions? Obscurity?
I repeat, so what? Who cares?
Gay people have around, like forever.
You are kind of missing the actual point. While I agree that gay people have been around since the dawn of man, and it seems like they have been accepted, apparently not, since this is the first gay man to come out in the NFL. There is no way he is the only gay man ever to play, so obviously, the players did not feel good about coming out.
So what? Tell that to Matthew Shepard. Or the lesbian who gets slammed by a man who wants "what she got"! Or the queens who are dead because some boy or man couldn't cope with "ms Thang!"
Don't play me, Greg. If you don't know about having one's dignity stripped away and your flesh laid bare: You would to well to ask somebody!
Unfortunately, the haters will hate, but Mr Nassib is so far above them, they will never touch him with that hate. He is a shinning star on the field and off of the field.
So... They gonna make him a wide receiver now?
Tight end.
Also not funny.
Some restraint, please?
You know who would find that hilarious? My gay step son and his husband.
Great. Tell it to them.
I’ll do that and you just continue to be offended on behalf of all gay people.
When I got married to my first wife we moved into a neighborhood that had a huge gay community. Most of our neighbors were gay and they were hilarious. Their sense of humor is much more crude than you give them credit for. My current wife and I are going on a cruise in December and a gay couple is part of gang going. They are uncomfortably crude, so it will be interesting.
I get that this is all just fodder for jokes for you. For some people it’s very serious. You might have gay relatives or friends, but you still have a ways to go when it comes to respect.
I won't pile on Hal A. Lujah, because I do understand where he is coming from!
And yes Hal' I do know and comprehend that some people are so comfortable in their crudeness of joking around and prankin.' (My family (straights) loves Ru Paul's Drag Race and sometimes its talent portion for queens will include: Stand up comedy! Boy could those queens get raunchy and alright - rancid. My straight family can bare up under it- while I sit quietly back and for the most part wilt at what was being laid bare!)
Personal note: Hal' I am extremely glad you like/love your homosexual stepson and husband and even more you can joke with them and our community-at-large. I heart you for that and so I want you to know that right now I ain't down on you! I would say I. . .lo—. . you for that, but I don't want to get publicly spurned. (Heartfelt smile.)
I disagree. I think your sense of humor is irreparably broke.
I love a good joke. I just don’t think that a story about a man’s courage to come out in a community that historically has not been welcoming and affirming, and dare that community to treat him as an equal is the moment to resurrect the old stereotype that anal sex is the only thing we need to know about gay men.
True, too. And though I hasten to get off the subject: Homosexuals who do not engage it all known forms of same-sex activity.
Is this necessary? Really?
You got jokes? May be he will - may be he won't. Only his partner will know for sure! It is indecent and crude to talk about other people sex 'spades or standard without explaining one's own first and clearly.
Funny how when someone mentions a heterosexual couple dating or getting married they usually don't automatically sink to the gutter with sex jokes about them. I guess we still have a long way to go for many people, even if they are accepting of lgtbq persons, to think of them as more than just sexual acts.
This article isn’t about a gay couple dating or getting married, it’s about the first openly gay NFL player. If it were about the first female NFL quarterback there could easily be sexually oriented jokes about that as well. Notice that my first comment is actually a legitimate discussion, though the NT cancel culture has likely waved it off as crude humor. This guy patting his teammates on the ass would literally be the same thing as his teammates patting a female player on the ass, which would be considered real harassment in today’s world.
Yeah, Larry Flynt was a special kind of libertarian whom some of us hated to love! (Smile.) Very few of us had the gall to place a Hustler magazine in plain sight of everybody!
Why is anybody patting asses in the NFL (and other sports) anyway? Asses are personal and private!
Guys,
Really? Please try to keep my article out of the muck. Thank you.
First thing I thought when I saw this on the news this morning, "Good for him!... Why do the cute ones seem to be gay"? Second thought, "I bet his family and most of his friends thought or said, 'It's about time!" I know that the few friends that came out, what I would consider later in life (out of high school) received a response [or similar] from friends and family, "Bout time! We knew already. We were just waiting for you to be ready to tell people."
Another friend of mine came out when he was just hitting puberty and had hinted at being gay as young as 8 to his mother... he just knew and his parents gave him the strength to be proud of who he is and to stick up for himself. That's one of the things I love most about him and his family really. I talk to him almost every day still... he lives in Chicago now, but he and his husband are looking at houses here in SE Michigan, because my friend wants to move back here. I can't wait to meet his husband.
This young man is going to need all this support he is getting today as a buffer tomorrow. There will be 'talkers,' and 'commentators,' and mentions of "get that 'SOB' off the field," and even the secret calls to owners to black-ball him (on the insider "down-low"). Inevitably, this admission of "being out" is going to cost him and the NFL dearly. Perhaps, it can be mitigated and lessen in its painful effect, because of 2020 season being messed over.
Hold on to your, gear, guys and gals - we're being going through. . . 'it' in a matter of days!