Carl Nassib’s biggest moment as an NFL player was so historic that it’s now part of the Smithsonian Institution.
On Sept. 13, 2021, Nassib, then with the Las Vegas Raiders, played in his first NFL game since coming out as gay three months earlier. He was, and remains, the first out active NFL player. With 4 minutes and 39 seconds left in overtime against the Baltimore Ravens on national TV, Nassib made the play that is the subject of the latest in the Outsports video series “More Than a Number.”
“That was a sick game,” Nassib said in a May podcast about the 2021 game.
“That was the first game in Las Vegas with fans,” he said. “Allegiant Stadium was rocking, and it was like a club.”
As for playing the game as an out gay player, Nassib said, “I thought about how I don’t only represent the name on my back of the jersey, like the team and the team logo, but also my community and this can be an ode to everybody that came before me.”
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The moment highlighted in the video happened in the season opener for both teams. A tense 27-27 game was coming down to the next score winning.
The Ravens had the ball at their own 33-yard line and were facing a third-and-seven. After taking the snap, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson faced heavy pressure from the Raiders defensive line and as he tried to escape he was sacked by Nassib, who forced a fumble that was recovered by teammate Darius Phion.
The turnover gave the Raiders the ball on Baltimore’s 27-yard line and they won the game two plays later on a touchdown pass from quarterback Derek Carr to Zay Jones.
“Lamar is probably my favorite player right now,” Nassib said of Jackson on the podcast. “I played him many times, and I should have had so many sacks. Luckily, in that game I actually got him down in overtime. It was one of the best games I’ll ever remember. It was a huge moment for me.”
Carl Nassib, the NFL’s first out gay player, stands in front of his display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. | RayzeApp
Nassib’s jersey from that game now hangs in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
In a visual description of the display, the museum notes: “A large color photograph of Nassib charging down the field wraps from the left wall of the case to the back wall. On the left wall, text in large white letters on a field of gray overlaps the photo, quoting Nassib recollecting the day he wore this jersey: ‘I felt really lucky that I could be on a big stage and make a good play while representing the community…to be the first out player in a game and then to win.’”
Nassib played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2022 and retired from the NFL in 2023. As the video shows, his legacy will be enduring.
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