Carl Nassib wasn’t always sure he would be welcomed in the NFL as an out gay player. His moment of clarity arrived not with a locker room pep talk or heartfelt moment with a teammate; but rather, blowback he received for spewing homophobic trash talk.
Allow the 7-year vet to explain.
On a recent episode of “The Pivot,” a podcast hosted by ex-NFL players Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder, Nassib recounts his frustrations from a 2020 game against the Cleveland Browns. Playing defensive end for the Las Vegas Raiders, the 275-pound Nassib was tasked with bringing down Browns QB Baker Mayfield, who kept escaping from the pocket. After failing to bring down the agile pass-thrower, Nassib yelped out an insult.
“Stop the gaya** bootlegs!”
He says the five hulking members of the Browns offensive line turned around, and admonished him for the schoolyard taunt.
“The entire Browns O-line turned around to me and said, ‘You can’t say that!'” Nassib shared. “I’m like, ‘Oh man, the league is ready for this! They are ready for me!’ I was like, ‘This is so funny. The guy who’s about to come out saying the word ‘gay’ getting shut down by five massive dudes. It was like in stereo. ‘You can’t say that!’”
It’s been nearly four years since Nassib publicly came out, becoming the first out gay active NFL player in history. He coupled his announcement with a $100,000 donation to The Trevor Project, which the NFL matched. The league continues its partnership with the LGBTQ+ organization today.
During his conversation with Clark, Taylor and Crowder, who have 32 years of NFL experience between them, Nassib talks about his personal evolution. He says he received the strength to come out from his uncle, who went through his life thinking he was the only gay person in a large Irish family with 11 siblings and 44 first cousins.
Nassib came out to his uncle shortly before he passed away in late 2019.
“When I came out to him, he and his husband were there, and he said, ‘This is the biggest weight off of my chest. I’m not the only one,'” he said. “Those words, I was like, ‘Man, there are probably many people out there who are going to feel the same way.’”
He continued, “I do feel, not regret, but in a perfect world, I could’ve come out earlier and been his backup. Could’ve been there for him a lot more than I was. That spurred me. ‘Hey, I gotta do this.’”
Nassib also says signing a lucrative contract with the Raiders provided him with the security he felt like he needed. Like many closeted athletes, Nassib thought coming out could cost him his career and reputation.
“I was like, ‘This isn’t even something I want to do. This is something I need to do,'” he said. “I have been gifted so many rights, so many freedoms that the previous generation in my community did not have. I can’t just sit on these and rake it in, especially when I have the guaranteed money and especially when I have a really hard touch point of it was like for the generation before me, for my uncle.”
Related*
Nassib played two seasons after coming out and made the playoffs each time, abolishing the ridiculous belief that an out gay player would hurt his team on the field. Since retiring, he’s remained involved with the NFL.
Last year, he announced the Browns’ pick in the NFL Draft and shared some financial wisdom.
"I saw a lot of diamonds last night. I'm gonna tell all you draft picks at home — save your money. It's not about how much you make, it's about how much you keep."
Carl Nassib with some sound advice to the draftees. pic.twitter.com/OdeLYQP1ja
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 27, 2024
Nassib, who’s the founder of a community-focused app called Rayze, also famously imparted financial advice to his NFL teammates on an episode of HBO’s Hard Knocks. When talking about the importance of saving, he tells a story about how he wanted to impress Taylor Swift with a Rolex, but opted to forego the expensive purchase.
“I met Taylor Swift before the concert, and I was like ‘I need to buy a roly, so she knows I got it,’” he said. “And I didn’t, because of this.”
The scene went viral and elevated Nassib’s name among football fans.
Interestingly, Clark asked Nassib about that speech, and whether he felt compelled to bring up Swift so he could cover as straight.
While Nassib fesses to playing up his “straight card” on other occasions, his T-Swift shoutout was not one of those moments.
He’s never hid his Swiftie fandom from anybody!
“I’ve been a Taylor Swift fan a lot longer than all of these other bandwagon fans. Excuse me,” he said. “The closet door was made of glass. I was the biggest Taylor Swift my entire life.”
Nassib’s easy rapport with Clark, Taylor and Crowder–they start off the interview with bro hugs and jovial football talk–shows how seamlessly he fits in among his peers.
He says his sexuality seldom came up in the locker room, outside of that time one of his teammates asked about his “gay-cation.”
“That’s the funniest sh*t I’ve heard my entire life!,'” Nassib said.
Watch the full episode here:
Related*
Sign up for the Queerty newsletter to stay on top of the hottest stories in LGBTQ+ entertainment, politics, and culture.