Raiders Defensive End Carl Nassib flexes while smiling during warmups before a game against the Broncos in November (Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)Photo: Getty Images
Monday Raiders Defensive End Carl Nassib announced to the world that he was Gay. He didn't do anything ostentatious, it wasn't a "hey look at me moment." He simply posted a short message on Instagram, and that was that. However, Nassib's post wasn't just another post from any NFL player. The 6th year Pro out of Penn State becomes the first openly gay athlete in league history.
Understandably, Nassib's post was met with plenty of love and support from around the world of sports, across the NFL and even from AFC West Rivals. In fact, The Broncos, along with the Chargers, were the first two organizations to show support for Nassib.
Fellow Penn State Nittany Lion, K.J. Hamler, retweeted a supportive post from his alma mater. And, Defensive Lineman McTelvin Agim, who let those in Broncos Country that may not have known, that his Mother is married to a woman. "Sosa" as his affectionately known discussed the challenges of being a teenage growing up in Texas and Arkansas with a mother who is Gay, on Episode 5 of "Shel-Shocked" the Shelby Harris Podcast.
Speaking of Shelby Harris and his podcast, Episode 6, which comes out Thursday features a conversation with his college teammate at Illinois State, Colton Underwood, the former Bachelor contestant who revealed to the world in April that he was Gay. "everyone's gonna say it's not a problem, until it's a problem.
Harris said this in part about Nassib, "Nobody in the world is gonna come out and talk "sh*t...I hope that his teammates are the right type of people, where, the reason he felt comfortable coming out is because they support him. I get it, everyone wants to bring up the locker room...I could really give a sh*t less, I'm just trying to win football games...I hope the rest of league figures it out. I truly hope the best for him, because everyone deserves to live their truth."
Fans showed support for Nassib, as the website Fanatics.com, the largest online sport retailer, said in the 1st couple of days following Nassib's announcement that he had the number 1 selling jersey on their site.
And, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell may have said it best with his statement: