On Monday, Raiders defensive lineman Carl Nassib announces he was gay, becoming the first active NFL player to do so in league history.
After a 15 year “agonizing” wait, Nassib said he felt he was “finally conformable” being able to announce it to the world, which the 28-year-old did during Pride Month.
“I just want to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay,” Nassib said in a video he posted to his Instagram account announcing the news. “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 are just not necessary, but until then I’m going to do my best and my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting, that’s compassionate.”
A day later, Nassib has the highest selling jersey in the NFL.
Nassib will donate $100,000 to The Trevor Project, a nonprofit group that focuses on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth.
Announcing his decision has likely led to gay youth across the country knowing they can perhaps one day become an NFL player just like him.
