Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib on Monday became the first NFL player to come out as gay while still playing in the league, a significant moment in an American sport long identified with traditional ideas of masculinity.
“I just want to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay,” Nassib said in a one-minute video posted to his Instagram account. “I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now but I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest.”
No openly gay player has played in a regular-season NFL game. Defensive lineman Michael Sam came out as gay before the 2014 NFL draft. He was drafted in the seventh round by the St. Louis Rams and played for them in the preseason but did not make a regular-season roster.
A handful of other NFL players have come out after their playing careers ended, most famously running back David Kopay in 1975.
The Raiders tweeted a longer statement written by Nassib and also posted on the player’s Instagram account, with the message “Proud of you, Carl” and a heart in the team’s signature black. The NFL twitter account tweeted Nassib’s video and added, “The NFL family is proud of you, Carl.”
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a statement that the “NFL family is proud of Carl for courageously sharing his truth today. Representation matters. We share his hope that someday soon statements like his will no longer be newsworthy as we march toward full equality for the LGBTQ+ community. We wish Carl the best of luck this coming season.”
In his statement, Nassib said he had “agonized over this moment for the last 15 years” and expressed gratitude for the support of the NFL, coaches and other players.
“From the jump, I was greeted with the utmost respect and acceptance,” he wrote.
In April 2013, NBA center Jason Collins became the first active athlete in one of the four major U.S. men’s professional leagues to publicly come out. The same year, Robbie Rogers of Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy also came out.
Nassib was a third-round pick by Cleveland out of Penn State in 2015. He’s played five seasons: two with the Browns, two with Tampa Bay and last season with the Raiders.
Carl Nassib, #94, has played one season with the Raiders, two with the Buccaneers and two with the Browns.
Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
“I really have the best life,” Nassib continued in the video. “I have the best family, friends and job a guy could 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, those are just not necessary. But until then, I’m going to do my best and do my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting, that’s compassionate.”
He added that he was donating $100,000 to the Trevor Project, an organization that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning people under age 25.
Nassib said in his written statement that LGBTQ youth are far more likely than their heterosexual friends to consider suicide.
Write to Rachel Bachman at Rachel.Bachman@wsj.com
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