Carl Nassib Makes Raider’s Cut, Will Be the First Openly Gay Player In NFL History
Share
Defensive End Carl Nassib made the cut and NFL History when he plays on the Las Vegas Raider’s opening day when they host the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1 on Sept. 13.
Rey Del Rio/Getty Images
Out Sports: “There was little chance that Nassib would be cut since he is in the second year of a three-year contract worth $25.25 million, with $16.75 million guaranteed, and is expected to be a key backup defensive end. When Nassib, 28, came out in June it was the biggest story in sports for a few days, but the attention quickly died down (which was a good thing). When training camp opened, I wrote about how Nassib’s appearance was treated with a shrug (again, a good thing).”
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr summed up the team’s acceptance of Nassib, saying, “When he came in [the locker room], I just like to watch, and not one person, from my point of view, has treated him any different.”
Nassib told NFL.com: “It’s been great. I knew it was gonna be good. I had zero stress about that. Absolutely no worries about it. I’ve got a great locker room, great teammates. I’ve been met with nothing but love and support. It’s been incredible, yeah. Football players get a bad rap, but we’re humble, hard-working, accepting people, and this was a great example of that definitely.”
Nassib’s announcement during LGBT Pride Month was met with praise and support from every level of the NFL community, from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to active and retired players across the landscape.
When Nassib made the announcement on his Instagram in June, he said it was purely for reasons of representation. “I hope that 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 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 to cultivate a culture that’s accepting and compassionate.”
View this post on Instagram
According to Out Sports, Nassib becomes one of 16 gay men to play in NFL history and will be the first to play in a regular season game while out. “It was definitely stressful growing up being in the closet, it’s definitely a weight lifted off of me. It’s been good not to lie at work.”
