Former Penn State Football standout Carl Nassib comes out as first active gay player in NFL history
By Evan Smith
Former Penn State Football defensive lineman Carl Nassib made history during Pride Month 2021, coming out as the first active gay NFL player
Former Penn State defensive lineman Carl Nassib became the first active NFL player to announce that he is gay.
Nassib, currently of the Las Vegas Raiders is a Malvern, PA native and walked on to the Penn State football team in 2011. He became a starter in 2015, recording 10 sacks in only six games and won the Big Ten Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year in 2015 along with the Hendrick’s Award (top defensive end) and Lombardi Award (best college football linebacker or lineman). He was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the 2016 NFL draft (65th pick overall) but was waived in 2018.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers claimed him off waivers, where he set career highs in sacks (6.5) and tackles for loss (12) in 2018. He is in the middle of a 3 year, $25 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Nassib stated on Instagram, “I’m at my house in West Chester Pennsylvania. I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I am gay. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now but finally feel comfortable getting it off my chest. I really have the best life, the best family, friends and job a guy can ask for.”
He went onto say he wasn’t doing this for attention and that was going to donate $100,000 to the Trevor Project (a suicide prevention service for LGBTQ youth in America). He continued, “I…hope that one day (coming out like this) isn’t necessary but until then I will do my best and my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting and comppassionate.”
The entire Instargram post can be found here.
Nassib announcement takes all kinds of courage, given the likelihood he will be walking into an NFL locker room once again later this summer, and should be commended for staying true to himself despite what could be an intimidating testosterone-driven culture.