Former Browns Draft Pick Carl Nassib Announces He's Gay Via Instagram
Former Cleveland Browns and current Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman has announced via Instagram that he is gay.
One of the barriers that remains in many professional sports featuring male athletes is the willingness to be openly gay, despite the obvious statistics that would make it obvious. Nevertheless, occasionally some athletes will come out after their careers have concluded, but rarely does a player announce while they are actively playing, especially in the NFL.
Michael Sam, a defensive lineman who played collegiately at the University of Missouri announced he was gay before entering the NFL. And there have been some athletes who have felt comfortable enough to tell their collegiate teams they were without making it into a news story.
Still, even if Nassib wasn't trying to be big news, the announcement is. And as he says, the hope is that it encourages and allows other people, whether they play in the NFL or not, to be comfortable with their sexuality and identity.
Unfortunately, there are still plenty of places where homosexuality is stigmatized, particularly in football. Nassib has already found success in the NFL, so perhaps it will be less of an issue for him.
Nothing would be better for Nassib to enjoy a smooth transition into owning his life and being happy with who he is, so one can hope that the Raiders players or organization is fine with it and people who root for the team will think its not a big deal.
Nassib was a third round pick by the Cleveland Browns in the 2016 NFL Draft out of Penn State. He played two seasons with the Browns followed by a pair with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before signing a lucrative deal with the Raiders.
