NFL’s First Openly Gay Player Is Getting Cut from Raiders

Savas Abadsidis March 17, 2022

Carl Nassib, the first openly gay NFL player has been cut from the Las Vegas Raiders.

Nassib, the first active NFL player to come out as gay, will no longer be a Las Vegas Raider.
Multiple reports on Wednesday indicate the Raiders are cutting Nassib in a salary cap move. He played two seasons as a defensive lineman with the Raiders, recording four sacks, 49 tackles and an interception.
Nassib’s announcement in an Instagram video came in June of last year, and he became a bit of celebrity as sales of his Raiders jersey skyrocketed, becoming the league’s top seller. He got strong support from his teammates and the organization.
When Nassib came out in June, he said he was donating $100,000 to the Trevor Project, an organization aimed at preventing LGBTQ youth suicide.
The positives from Nassib’s actions were welcome as the team prepared for a season that would turn into a nightmare off the field.
Within months, Jon Gruden brought a new kind of attention to the team’s front office.
Gruden resigned Monday, Oct. 11, after emails surfaced containing racist and homophobic language. The emails were part of an NFL investigation into the Washington Commanders, then known as the Washington Football Team, a franchise beset by accusations of sexism. Gruden has sued the NFL over the disclosure of the emails.
Gruden’s emails were a punch in the stomach for Black players around the league, and particularly hard to take for Nassib, who was given time off by Raiders management.