Carl Nassib coming out as gay is testament to acceptance, support on Raiders

Make no mistake, what Carl Nassib did the other day was incredibly courageous. On Monday, the veteran NFL defensive end came out as a gay man, becoming the first active NFL player to do so.

Nassib opened his statement mentioned that he had agonized for 15 years about making this announcement.

It took several baby steps over many years to get to this point. First from several former NFL players coming out as gay, then with Michael Sam becoming the first-ever openly gay man drafted into the NFL.

Getting to this point takes not just courage, but support. As Nassib said early in his announcement that he would not have been able to do this without the support of his coaches and teammates. That starts with his head coach, Jon Gruden who put out a statement of support following Nassib’s announcement.

“I learned a long time ago what makes a man different is what makes him great.” said Gruden. Some wise words. What’s interesting is how you could absolutely imagine Al Davis saying these words.

In Gruden’s first stint with the Raiders, he was the head coach under the league’s only ever female CEO Amy Trask. For an owner and organization that had previously hired the first-ever Hispanic head coach and first-ever African American head coach. And Al Davis has always embraced individuality in his players. The Raiders won three Super Bowls with that philosophy.

Gruden himself was the youngest head coach in NFL history when he was hired. All a testament to simply hiring the best person for the job, regardless of things like race, gender, age, or otherwise.

Back in 2018 — the first year of Gruden’s second stint as Raiders head coach — he took a chance on a Ravens practice squad tight end who had struggled with drug addiction throughout his career. The Raiders signed Darren Waller late in the season and that offseason, Gruden had enough faith on Waller to name him the starter. Now two years later, Waller is one of the best tight ends in the league.

Since the day Waller arrived, he made it his mission to be completely open about his struggles with substance abuse and mental health — areas the league and its players have long treated with shame and embarrassment.

Waller started his own foundation to help those who struggle as he has in the hopes more will seek help and trying to erase the stigma. He is a true success story and a hero to many.

Joining Waller with the Raiders this offseason was Solomon Thomas, who is a longtime mental health advocate.

Thomas was one of the first of Nassib’s Raiders teammates to offer his public support, saying “Proud of you brother!”

NFL players and organizations from across the league have come out in support of Nassib, including the likes of the Broncos and Chargers because some things are bigger than rivalries.

It’s a beautiful thing to behold. But no amount of kind words from outside players and teams would be enough if Nassib didn’t feel like the players on his own team embraced his sexuality and his decision to make it public.

The relic grumblings that such an announcement would be a ‘distraction’ and ‘divide the locker room’ are still real. It takes a strong enough players to be on the right side of this to drown out that noise and not normalize the stigma.

If you want to talk ‘distraction’, how about the distraction is must have been for Nassib all these years juggling that secret while trying to focus on football? Look at what Waller was able to accomplish once he was freed from his shame over addiction?

While Nassib is hoping his courage to be an openly gay NFL player will save lives. That’s what The Trevor Project is about and why he promotes it. But he also notes that he’s just one man. There are undoubtedly many others in the NFL who currently struggle with going public with their homosexuality.

With Nassib’s courage and the support he receives from his Raiders coaches and teammates, perhaps this can be a model for other NFL players to come out. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time the Raiders played a key role in breaking barriers and setting a new precedent of inclusion.

Let’s help Nassib and the Raiders remove this stigma. Not just for NFL players, but especially for young people who may be struggling with it. To find out more about how you can help, head over to The Trevor Project.

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