Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman Carl Nassib has become the first active NFL player in history to announce that he is gay.
"I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I'm gay," the Raiders star said in a video posted to Instagram. "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.
"I'm a pretty private person so I hope you guys know that I'm not doing this for attention. I just think that representation and visibility are so important. I actually hope that one day, videos like this and the whole coming out process are not necessary, but until then I will do my best and my part to cultivate a culture that's accepting and compassionate and I'm going to start by donating $100,000 to the Trevor Project. They're an incredible organization, they're the number one suicide-prevention service for LGBTQ youth in America."
Nassib's announcement holds weight because no openly gay player has ever played in a regular-season NFL game.
Michael Sam announced he was gay before the 2014 NFL draft and was drafted by the Rams. Sam played for them in the preseason, but he did not make a regular season roster.
A handful of other players have come out after their playing careers ended.
Nassib was a third-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft and goes into his second season with the Raiders.
In 14 games last season, Nassib recorded 28 tackles, 2.5 sacks, nine quarterback hits and an interception.
from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/news/carl-nassib-come-out-as-gay-first-active-nfl-player/4877a419-0643-4e70-87cb-70ce23f85c88
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