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Sexy 6' 7" tall footballer Carl Nassib just made history by becoming the first openly gay man actively playing for a team in the NFL. And he came out in the best way possible! The twenty-eight-year-old Carl Nassib took to Instagram to casually reveal to his almost 200K followers - and to the world - that he's gay in a short but sweet video. Carl hopes that one day LGBT folks don't have to come out, but until then, he feels that representation matters. And spoiler, it does! Here's the full transcript of Carl's coming out video:
Just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I am gay. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now, but I finally feel comfortable to get it off my chest. I really have the best life. I have the best family, friends and job that a guy could ask for. I’m a pretty private person, so I hope 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 not necessary, but until then I’m going to do my best and do my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting, that’s compassionate, and I’m going to start by donating $100K to @trevorproject. They’re an incredible organization. They’re #1 suicide prevention service for LGBTQ youth in America and they’re truly doing incredible things. And I’m very excited to be a part of it, to help in any way that I can, and I’m very excited to see what the future holds.
Yes, you read that correctly. Carl is gaying it forward by donating a cool $100K to the all-important Trevor Project, which focuses on suicide prevention for LGBT youth. What isn't there to love about Carl Nassib? Certainly not the fact that he's cute, athletic (duh), and 6' 7" tall. We'd expand on why moments like this are so crucial for gays across the globe, but cultural critic Evan Ross Katz summed it up sublimely already in this Instagram post:
LGBTQ+ youth who report having at least one accepting adult were 40% less likely to report a suicide attempt. Seeing figures like Sha'Carri (a track and field star who recently came out) and Carl living out and proud and being celebrated both for their queerness but also (and this is the really important part IMHO) for their athletic prowess can make many of our LGBTQ+ youth feel like they've found someone who, like them, is "different," and who they see being accepted and celebrated for that difference. It also, no doubt, encourages other athletes to come out, which can help shift the culture of homophobia and transphobia that runs so rampant in sports. So next time someone tells you "what's the big deal?" maybe help them consider the bigger picture.
Carl Nassib coming out while actively playing for the NFL is a BFD and NGL, we're kinda in love. Check out some pics of your future boyfriend below, and celebrate with our playlist of the hottest celebrity jockstrap scenes!
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