In honor of LGBTQIA+ Pride Month, we will spotlight the sexual minorities who faced adversity for being themselves throughout NFL history. We will explore players in the LGBTQIA+ community or important allies in the NFL. To kick off Pride Month, we will celebrate Carl Nassib.

Carl Nassib is an incredible, brave trailblazer; he is the first NFL player to come out as gay while being an active player.

Who Is This Carl Nassib?

Although Carl Nassib is significant for his career and his trailblazing, he is also an individual not defined by any one component of his personhood.

Carl Paul Nassib was born in 1993 in West Chester, Pennsylvania, to a football family. Gilbert Nassib, Carl’s dad, played ball at the University of Delaware, and his brother Ryan played for Syracuse and then was in the NFL from 2013 to 2017.

The outside linebacker was a multi-sport athlete in high school. He lettered three times in football and track and field and twice in basketball. It’s not exactly surprising he was a basketball star too; he is 6’7′ and weighs well over 200 pounds.

Penn State's Carl Nassib

Former Penn State DL/LB Carl Nassib (95) – Matthew O’Haren/USA TODAY Sports

Nassib went from being a walk-on in 2011 at Penn State who didn’t play his first two years to winning all of the awards and starting his senior year. He secured the Lombardi Trophy, the Lott Trophy, the Ted Hendricks Award, Unanimous All-American, First-Team All-Big Ten, and the Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year, all in 2015.

Carl Nassib in the NFL

In 2016, Carl was drafted in the third round by the Cleveland Browns. He played in 14 games as a rookie and became a starter in 2017. Nassib was waived in 2018.

Carl, a two-year Buccaneer from 2018 to 2019, had career highs in sacks (6.5) and tackles for loss (12) in 2018.

Carl’s Las Vegas Raiders career from 2020 to 2021 was highlighted by his first interception and sacking of Lamar Jackson.

The offensive lineman wasn’t done yet; he returned to the Buccaneers for a one-year contract in 2022. Carl Nassib is currently a free agent.

Life Outside of Football

Carl made history in the NFL by exhibiting tremendous courage when he came out in June 2021. Despite a long list of players who came out as gay after their football careers, Nassib was the first to feel able to do so during his career, despite potential backlash. It could be a coincidence, but it is interesting to note that he is a free agent just two years after telling the world he is gay. Random occurrence or not? You decide.

It is important to note that many players were not given the opportunity to return to play after coming out, and so it was not their decision to not be an active player who was openly gay.

Last March, Carl donated $100,000 to The Trevor Project, an amount that was matched by the Las Vegas Raiders. It’s really the least they could do after Nassib’s head coach stepped down after his racist, homophobic, and misogynistic emails came to light in 2021. Carl Nassib responded to what must have been a very painful experience for him by taking a few personal days away from the team after.

It is commendable that Carl Nassib has utilized his position as the first active openly gay player to advocate for groups like The Trevor Project and respond with poise and grace when confronted with homophobia.

One of the things that motivated Carl was to be a role model for kids within the LGBTQIA+ community. And he succeeded. He wants kids to know that there is a large, supportive community out there. His hope that his coming out is a push in a positive direction has already come true many times over.

He has been thriving since he got to be open about who he is. He had told family and friends that he was gay long ago, but coming out to the NFL and all of America required tremendous bravery. The football player hyped himself up for over an hour before posting his coming-out video. He wasn’t worried about his teammates; they showered him with incredible support.

Being the first openly gay player in the NFL may be an isolating position at times, but we know Carl doesn’t have to handle this alone. He went public with his boyfriend in January 2023. Who’s the lucky guy? Olympic swimmer Soren Dahl Cheers to the happy couple!

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