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Raiders player comes out as gay in social media post, becomes first active NFL player to do so

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LAS VEGAS (KTNV) -- A defensive end with the Las Vegas Raiders is the first active NFL player to announce that he is gay.

28-year-old Carl Nassib made the announcement on Instagram on Monday.

In his video, Nassib says “I just want 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 job a guy can ask for.”

Nassib, who was the third-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft and is headed into his 6th pro season, also said that he is a pretty private person and he is not doing it for attention. He said representation is important.

Additionally, Nassib said that he is going to do his best to cultivate a culture that’s accepting and compassionate and he is going to start by donating $100,000 to The Trevor Project.

The Trevor Project was founded in 1998 by the creators of the Academy Award-winning short film “Trevor.”

The Trevor Project is a national organization that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning young people under the age of 25.