Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib has become the first active NFL player to come out as gay.
Nassib made the announcement Monday in a video posted on his Instagram account saying that he is donating $100,000 to The Trevor Project, which is a non-profit organization that works to prevent suicide within the LGBTQ community.
“I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay,” Nassib said in the video. “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 No. 1 suicide-prevention service for LGBTQ youth in America.”
The 28-year-old is entering his second season with the Raiders after spending time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cleveland Browns. The third-round pick from the 2016 NFL Draft has 20.5 career sacks, including 2.5 in 14 games for Las Vegas.
Back in 2014, Michael Sam became the first publicly gay player to be drafted in the NFL, but never ended up playing a regular-season game in the league.
