Carl Nassib, one of the few players in the US National Football League to come out as gay, has announced his retirement.
He’s been part of the league for seven seasons playing with the Cleveland Browns, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Las Vegas Raiders.
Nassib revealed that he was in gay via an Instagram post in June 2021 posted during Pride month in the USA. He became the first active player in the code to share that they were gay, following on from Michael Sam who was in the game’s draft when he came out in 2014.
When Nassib came out he donated $100,000 to The Trevor Project, a US based LGBTIQA+ suicide prevention initiative. Following his announcement the projects website saw a 350% increase in traffic, and an uptick in donations.
In his retirement announcement Nassib said he would be leaving sport to focus on his company Rayze which a social media project focused on sharing positive stories.
“Football has given me more than I ever could have imagined,” Nassib wrote. “I can truly hang up my helmet for the last time knowing I gave it everything I had.” Nassib said.
OIP Staff
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