Raiders’ Carl Nassib First Active NFL Player To Come Out As Gay

Carl Nassib found a pretty great way to celebrate Pride Month.

The Las Vegas Raiders defensive end on Monday became the first active player in the NFL to come out as gay.

Nassib made things public in a video posted to his personal Instagram account, and we must commend him for not only his courage, but the messaging in his announcement.

“Just want to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now, but I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest,” Nassib said in the video before going on to thank friends and family for their support.

“I’m a pretty private person, so I hope you guys know that I’m really 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 just not necessary. But until then, you know, I’m gonna do my best and do my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting, that’s compassionate and I’m gonna start by donating $100,000 to the Trevor Project.”

Check out his entire statement below.

The Trevor Project is a national organization which provides a 24-hour free and confidential suicide prevention service for LGBTQ youth.