In a video posted to social media, Las
Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib talks about the reasons he
decided to come out last year.
Nassib came out gay in June, making him
the first active NFL player to do so.
Nassib's video announcement on social
media last year was straightforward: “What's up people. I'm at my
house in West Chester, Pennsylvania. I just wanted to take a quick
moment to say that I'm gay. I've been meaning to do this for a while
now but finally feel comfortable getting it off my chest. I really
have the best life, the best family, friends, and a job a guy can ask
for.”
He added that he had donated $100,000
to The Trevor Project, which provides crisis intervention and suicide
prevention services to LGBTQ youth.
In Wednesday's video, Nassib reflected
on coming out and thanked the Raiders for matching his donation.
“That was a really exciting day for
me,” Nassib said. “I had wanted to do it for a really long time.
I wanted to be in a place where I felt totally comfortable, totally
confident to really give a voice to people that needed it the most.”
“I was with my friends and family and
it was definitely a stressful thing to do but we were really excited
to spread the message of The Trevor Project, to bring visibility and
representation to the NFL, to sports. And we did it for the youth,
for the kids that are really struggling the most. And that's who I'm
most passionate about. And to be able to say that I helped them is
absolutely incredible.”
Nassib called the NFL's $100,000
matching donation to The Trevor Project “incredible.”
“I never expected them to match it
and I think it's beautiful for them to take that step, to support me,
support The Trevor Project,” he
said.