As Pride Month draws to a close in many nations, the NFL witnesses a groundbreaking moment with Carl Nassib becoming the first openly gay professional football player in the League’s history.
Nassib took to Instagram on Monday to publicly share his sexual orientation. In his post, he expressed relief in finally being able to be open about it, stating, “I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now but finally feel comfortable 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.”
Michael Sam also made waves in the NFL as the first openly gay player to be drafted by a team. He praised Nassib’s courage in owning his truth and acknowledged the generous contribution Nassib made to the Trevor Project, an organization dedicated to preventing suicide among LGBTQ youth, through a social media post.
Sam, who played college football at the University of Missouri, made headlines during the 2014 NFL draft when he came out as an “openly proud gay man” to ESPN. Despite initially being projected as a third or fourth-round pick, he was eventually selected in the seventh round by the Rams but did not see regular-season play and retired from the NFL after a year.
Cyd Zeigler, known for co-authoring a book about former Patriots player Ryan O’Callaghan, speculated to the Guardian that Sam’s career may have been impacted by his announcement. Conversely, Nassib, who is already under contract with the Las Vegas Raiders, seems to have secured his position within his team.
