WEST CHESTER (PENN) – Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib said in a public social media announcement that he is gay, making him the first active NFL player to acknowledge his homosexuality.
He made his personal announcement on social media outlet, Instagram.
“I’m at my house here in West Chester, Pennsylvania,” Nassib, 28, said. “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 enough to get it off my chest. I really have the best life, I’ve got 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 really not doing this for attention. I just think that representation and visibility are so important. I actually hope that like one day, videos like this and the whole coming out process are not necessary, but until then I am gonna do my best and do my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting, that’s compassionate.”
Raiders team owner Mark Davis said to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “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 prominent news story). It doesn’t change my opinion of him as a man or as a Raider.”