Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib comes out in post on Instagram, donates $100,000 to the Trevor Project. (1:00)
In the 24 hours since Carl Nassib became the first active NFL player to come out as gay, the Las Vegas Raiders defensive end's jersey has been the top-selling item across the league, according to Fanatics.
Nassib, 28, made the announcement Monday in a video posted to Instagram from his house in West Chester, Pennsylvania. In the video, Nassib says, "I 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. I really have the best life, I've 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. I just think that representation and visibility are so important."
Fanatics, the NFL's official e-commerce partner, said Nassib has had the top-selling NFL jersey Monday and Tuesday across the company's network of online stores.
As part of his announcement, Nassib pledged $100,000 to the Trevor Project, an organization that provides crisis and suicide prevention services to the LGBTQ+ community.
The NFL on Tuesday confirmed to ABC News that it would match Nassib's $100,000 donation.
President Joe Biden offered his support as well, writing on Twitter, "To Carl Nassib and Kumi Yokoyama - two prominent, inspiring athletes who came out this week: I'm so proud of your courage. Because of you, countless kids around the world are seeing themselves in a new light today."
Yokoyama, a forward for the NWSL's Washington Spirit and Japan's national team, came out as a transgender man in a YouTube video posted Sunday.
To Carl Nassib and Kumi Yokoyama - two prominent, inspiring athletes who came out this week: I'm so proud of your courage. Because of you, countless kids around the world are seeing themselves in a new light today. — President Biden (@POTUS) June 23, 2021
Also on Tuesday, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr told reporters that he reached out to Nassib directly in the wake of his announcement, saying it was important to tell Nassib he loved him.
"I have often said I love my teammates. I mean it," Carr said. "We always say we are a family in that Raider locker room, and we mean that too. I want to win a championship here with Carl and the rest of our teammates."
In a statement Monday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league "is proud of Carl for courageously sharing his truth."
"Representation matters," Goodell said. "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."
Information from ESPN's Paul Gutierrez was included in this report.
AchillesGRK on June 23rd, 2021 at 14:58 UTC »
And now that the NFL has realized they were missing out on money, expect them to be SUPER open to the idea of gay players all of a sudden
TriclopyrEster on June 23rd, 2021 at 14:28 UTC »
Why do I read the comments on uplifting news everytime.
I know there's nuance but it saps any potential good I can feel about virtually anything. I don't want to be ignorant to the context of a situation but there's always some sort of unavoidable harsh and blunt truths to virtually any post that ruins it.
gamerdude69 on June 23rd, 2021 at 13:43 UTC »
This is really only the first? Figured that would have been done a while ago.