Las Vegas Raiders Defensive End Carl Nassib Becomes the First Active NFL Player to Come out as Gay
Published June 22 2021, 2:44 p.m. ET
Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib became the first-ever active NFL player to publicly come out as gay after making a video announcement on Instagram on Monday, June 21, 2021.
As the 28-year-old West Chester native explained in the short clip, he wants to work toward a more inclusive and accepting culture and help the LGBTQ community. As Carl added in the Instagram post, he has received immense support from his parents, friends, coaches, the NFL, and fellow players.
So, what's there to know about Carl Nassib's parents?
Carl has treated his followers to a few updates on his latest adventures with his family, including his parents, Gilbert and Mary, brothers, Ryan and John, and sisters, Carey and Paige, over the years.
It's understood that they all get along well. Carl describes himself as a private person, but his family members are even more careful than him when it comes to sharing details about their personal lives. There's little information available about his parents, for instance.
It's certain, however, that the Nassib brothers share the love of sports. Carl currently plays for the Las Vegas Raiders, while Ryan played for the New York Giants between 2013 and 2016. He reportedly joined the Jacksonville Jaguars before exiting the NFL in the fall of 2017. John played as a defensive lineman for the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team before embarking on a lucrative career in sales and marketing.
Carl's parents don't seem to be too active on social media. The official website of a full-service brokerage firm, Trident Risk Advisors, lists a West Chester-based man named Gilbert P. Nassib as the VP. Bearing in mind that Carl is from West Chester and his dad is named Gilbert, this could easily be a match.
Carl Nassib is the first active NFL player to come out as gay.
Carl came out publicly on Monday, June 21, 2021.
"Just want to take a quick moment to say that I'm gay. I've been meaning to do this for a while now, but I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest," Carl said in the Instagram video. "I really have the best life. I got the best family, friends, and job a guy could ask for. I'm a pretty private person. So I hope you guys know that I'm really not doing this for attention."
As Carl explained, he firmly believes that representation and visibility are important, which is partly what motivated him to make the video.
"I just think that representation and visibility are so important," Carl said. "I actually hope that one day, videos like this and the whole coming out process [will not be] necessary. But until then I will do my best and do my part to cultivate a culture that's accepting and compassionate."
Carl used the video to draw more attention to the work of The Trevor Project, a nonprofit specializing in crisis intervention and suicide prevention for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning youth.
"For someone like me, who has been so lucky and cherishes every day, it brings me incredible sadness to think that our LGBTQ youth are at such an elevated risk of suicide," Carl wrote in the same Instagram post. "I feel an immense responsibility to help in any way I can."