Carl Nassib becomes first openly gay NFL player

Carl Nassib has become the first ever active NFL player to come out as gay.

The American Football player, who plays for Las Vegas Raiders, made the announcement on his Instagram account.

"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 I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest," he said.

"I really have the best life, the best family, friends and job a guy could ask for."

He has donated $100,000 to the Trevor Project, which helps young LGBTQ+ people in America.

No openly gay player has ever played in the NFL.

Michael Sam came out as gay before he was drafted by the St Louis Rams in 2014 and played for them in the pre-season, but did not make their final team for the regular season.

Former LA Galaxy and USA footballer Robbie Rogers became the first openly gay man to play in one of the USA's big five sports leagues when he came out in February 2013.

Nassib is an experienced American Football player and is just about to enter his sixth season in the NFL.

Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis said: "These are personal decisions. It's 2021, and he's a Raider. If he's happy, I'm happy. It takes courage.

"I thought we got to the point where this wasn't [a prominent news story]. It doesn't change my opinion of him as a man or as a Raider."

In his statement on Instagram, Nassib said he hoped his decision to come out could help others: "I'm a pretty private person so I hope that you guys know that I'm really not doing this for attention. I just think that representation and visibility are so important.

"I actually hope that one day videos like this and the whole coming out process are just not necessary, but until then I'm going to do my best to cultivate a culture that's accepting and compassionate."