Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib on Monday announced that he is gay, making him the first active NFL player to acknowledge his homosexuality. He made his proclamation in a video posted on Instagram.
“I’m at my house here in West Chester, Pennsylvania,” Nassib, 28, said. “I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now, but finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest. I really have the best life. I’ve got 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 really not doing this for attention,” Nassib said.
Photo: Kirby Lee, USA TODAY
“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 not necessary, but until then I am gonna do my best and do my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting, that’s compassionate,” Nassib added.
“These are personal decisions,” Raiders owner Mark Davis told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “It’s 2021 and he’s a Raider. If he’s happy, I’m happy. It takes courage. I thought we got to the point where this wasn’t [a prominent news story]. It doesn’t change my opinion of him as a man or as a Raider.”
“The NFL family is proud of Carl for courageously sharing his truth today. Representation matters,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “We share his hope that someday soon statements like his will no longer be newsworthy, as we march toward full equality for the LGBTQ+ community. We wish Carl the best of luck this coming season.”
Penn State University coach James Franklin, who was Nassib’s coach in 2014 and 2015, wrote on social media: “I am very proud of Carl for his courage & voice. This announcement doesn’t surprise me because if you know Carl, you know his strength. Carl’s story continues to add chapters which will have an impact well beyond the field of play.”
Nassib is on track to become the first openly gay player to play in a regular-season game.
Defensive end Michael Sam came out as gay in 2014 before the St Louis Rams drafted him, but he did not make the final roster.
Nassib also announced a US$100,000 donation to the Trevor Project, which works to prevent suicides among LGBTQ+ youth in the US.
Entering his sixth NFL season, Nassib was a third-round draft pick in 2016 by the Browns. He spent two seasons at Cleveland (2016-2017), followed by two with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2018-2019) before signing a three-year, US$25.3 million contract, including nearly US$16.8 million in guarantees, with the Raiders in March last year.
In 73 career games (37 starts), Nassib has 143 tackles (36 for loss), 20.5 sacks, 16 passes defensed, one interception, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
Mohamed Salah’s Egypt knocked reigning champions Ivory Coast out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with a 3-2 win in the quarter-finals on Saturday, while Victor Osimhen starred as Nigeria beat Algeria 2-0 to set up a clash with hosts Morocco. In Agadir, Morocco, a thrilling last-eight tie saw Omar Marmoush and Ramy Rabia net in the first half for the Pharaohs before an own goal by Ahmed Aboul-Fetouh brought the Ivorians back into it. Salah then got Egypt’s third early in the second half and they held on after Guela Doue again reduced the deficit. Egypt is to face Senegal
AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURE: Sabalenka aims to follow up with a third Australian Open win, while Taiwanese Joanna Garland claimed a WTA 125 title in Canberra Aryna Sabalenka beat Karolina Muchova in straight sets to reach her third Brisbane International final in a row yesterday, a week ahead of the Australian Open. Sabalenka looked in great touch against the tricky Czech, who had won their last three meetings and went into the match as one of the few players with a winning record over the world No. 1. However, Sabalenka showed her class and power as she broke Muchova once in each set to take the semi-final 6-3, 6-4 in 89 minutes to face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the final. “I struggled against her a couple of times [in
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday sparked defending champions Oklahoma City to victory, while Anthony Edwards led Minnesota’s last-minute fightback to beat San Antonio. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points while adding eight assists and five rebounds in the Thunder’s 124-112 home victory over Miami, improving the NBA’s best record to 33-7 after outscoring the Heat 70-53 in the second half. “We locked in defensively. We were finally able to get some stops,” Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins said. “We were able to get out in transition a little bit, get going offensively and find the flow.” Jalen Williams scored 18 points, while
RSS