Free Agent Carl Nassib Sends Clear Message About His NFL Future
Free-agent defensive end Carl Nassib made perfectly clear he’s still on the lookout for a new opportunity in the NFL with training camp right around the corner.
“The best scenario for me is, like, the best opportunity to show what I got,” Nassib said during an appearance on Good Morning America on Tuesday. “Got a lot in the tank.”
Nassib, 29, was released by the Raiders in March after playing in 27 games and making five starts for the team over the past two seasons. In 2021, he tallied 21 tackles, 1.5 sacks and one forced fumble.
Nassib made history last offseason when he announced he was gay, later becoming the first openly gay active player to play in the NFL. He told Good Morning America coanchor Michael Strahan that he “agonized” over the decision to come out publicly and that he “stared at the phone for, like, an hour just looking at it, trying to hype myself up.”
“The last thing I said was like, ‘You know what—for the kids.’ And pressed post,” Nassib said.
“I just wanted to show that it really doesn’t matter—your sexual orientation,” he added.
Nassib’s announcement was met with support from across the league, including commissioner Roger Goodell saying he was proud of Nassib “for courageously sharing his truth.” The Raiders also donated $100,000 to The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention charity for LGBTQ+ youth, matching the contribution Nassib made at the time of his announcement.
The response to his announcement gave Nassib hope that others will feel more comfortable with coming out in the future.
“We are making strides in a positive direction,” he said. “It won’t be a perfect road, and we just have to continue the course and make sure that we do it from a place of love and not from a place of animosity.”
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