Meet Carl Nassib, the first openly gay active NFL player: the Las Vegas Raiders defensive end came out as LGBT in an Instagram post applauded by Joe Biden

Jun 30 , 2021

Carl Nassib recently came out on Instagram, becoming the first gay active American football player. Photo: @carlnassib/Instagram

Nassib won the Lombardi Award and Ted Hendricks Award in 2015 in university, and played previously for the Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers

He donated to the Trevor Project non-profit that aims to prevent suicide in the LGBTQ+ community while his mum Mary Fischer-Nassib co-founded Sow Good Now

Carl Nassib, 28, who plays defensive end for American football team Las Vegas Raiders, came out as gay last week on Instagram, making history as the first NFL player to make such an announcement while still playing.

“I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay,” he said. “I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now but I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest.”

His post even earned a tweet from the top, with President Joe Biden commenting: “I’m so proud of your courage. Because of you, countless kids around the world are seeing themselves in a new light today.”

Nassib went on to add that he isn’t doing this for attention, and pointed out that “representation and visibility is important”.

He hopes that one day, the whole process of coming out will no longer be necessary. “But until then I’m going to do my best to cultivate a culture that’s accepting and compassionate,” he added.

Putting his words into action, he donated US$100,000 to the Trevor Project, a US non-profit that aims to prevent suicide among the LGBTQ+ community.

As the first openly gay active NFL player, who is Carl Nassib on and off the field?