NFL Player Carl Nassib Reflects on Coming Out Last Year
advocate.comCarl Nassib is opening up about the minute-long Instagram video that changed his life.Nassib, who is now a free agent after being released by the Las Vegas Raiders earlier this year, detailed his “agonizing” decision to publicly come out last summer, he told former NFL star Michael Strahan on Good Morning America."I stared at the phone for, like, an hour just looking at it, trying to hype myself up," Nassib shared. "The last thing I said was like, 'You know what — for the kids.' And, pressed post.” In June 2021, the 29-year-old athlete came out as gay on social media, telling the world that he “finally” felt comfortable enough to “get it off my chest.”The decision came after fifteen years of battling “difficult times'' in navigating his sexuality.
Ultimately, Nassib wanted to “own the story” and come out on his own terms, he told the show.“One of my biggest fears was that I would only be remembered for being gay," the defensive end recalled, while recognizing that that fear was, in part, why he felt he needed to publicly come out in the first place. "When people come out, they're coming out of the closet because they're afraid.
They fear that they're going to have a negative impact on their life, on their relationships, on their job."Nassib said he wishes one day the coming out process wouldn’t be necessary. "I just hope that one day we don't have those fears — that's the society I hope for one day.
