Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

NFL DE Carl Nassib 'stared at the phone for, like, an hour' before coming out as gay

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 7/19/22

Defensive end Carl Nassib was a member of the Las Vegas Raiders when he made history on June 21, 2021, by becoming the first openly gay active NFL player on a roster.

Nassib, who was released by the Raiders this past March as a salary-cap casualty and is currently a free agent, discussed his famous decision Tuesday during an edition of "Good Morning America."

Per an ESPN piece, Nassib told "GMA" co-anchor and Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan that he "stared at the phone for, like, an hour just looking at it, trying to hype myself up" before he sent his social-media post.

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"The last thing I said was like, 'You know what -- for the kids.' And pressed post," Nassib continued during his comments.

Last August during training camp, Nassib remarked that he was "met with nothing but love and support" from those inside the Raiders locker room following his announcement. He echoed such comments to Strahan on Tuesday morning and added that he wanted younger individuals to realize that "they have support from a massive community of people" as it pertains to coming out.

"We are making strides in a positive direction," Nassib said. "It won't be a perfect road, and we just have to continue the course and make sure that we do it from a place of love and not from a place of animosity."

As for his playing future, Nassib insisted he has "got a lot in the tank." The 29-year-old tallied 1.5 sacks, 21 total tackles, a forced fumble and four quarterback hits across 13 regular-season games during the 2021 campaign.

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