Raiders DL Carl Nassib becomes first active NFL player to come out as gay

Monday was a historic day in the NFL.

That’s because Las Vegas Raiders DL Carl Nassib took to Instagram to announce that he was gay, becoming the first active NFL player to announce he was gay.

You can see Nassib’s announcement below, shared on Twitter by @SportsCenter:

“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 I finally feel comfortable getting it off my chest.”

Raiders DL Carl Nassib shared this video to social media and became the first active NFL player to announce he is gay. pic.twitter.com/gGXbZEP3R7

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 21, 2021

Nassib, a former Penn State star, was chosen by the Cleveland Browns in the 2016 NFL Draft. He has played for the Browns, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Raiders in his career. In 2020, he played in 14 games, recording 28 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 5 pass breakups and 1 interception.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell issued a statement after Nassib broke the news:

Statement from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Raiders’ DE Carl Nassib: pic.twitter.com/GM4rzsgm0E

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 21, 2021

So did Raiders owner Mark Davis:

https://twitter.com/edgraney/status/1407111595784753153

Former Mizzou DL Michael Sam announced he was gay prior to the 2014 NFL Draft, becoming the first publicly gay person to be drafted in the NFL. However, he never played in a regular season game.

Adam Spencer

Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.