Las Vegas Raiders player Carl Nassib became the first Professional American Football Championship (NFL) player to reveal his homosexuality on Monday, June 21, in a video posted on Instagram.
“I just wanted to take a moment to say I’m gay, he said in his video. It’s been a while since I thought about doing this but I finally feel comfortable enough to take the weight off my shoulders. “
The 28-year-old defensive end is the first player on an active NFL team to come out. Several players made theirs after retiring from the sport, the most watched in the United States. He said he hoped his example would make other gay athletes more visible.
“Representation and visibility are so important”
“I’m a rather private person so I hope you understand I’m not doing this to attract attention.” I just believe that representation and visibility [de la communauté LGBTQ+] are so important ”, he confided.
“Besides, I hope that one day videos like this and the whole coming out process won’t be necessary anymore, but until then I’ll do my best and whatever I can to develop a tolerant and compassionate culture ”, he added.
In his video, Carl Nassib also announces donating $ 100,000 to The Trevor Project, an NGO for suicide prevention among young people from the LGBTQ + community in the United States.
“I really have the best life, the best family, the best friends and the best job a guy could dream of”, said the player.