“I’m a pretty private person,” Nassib mentioned then in a video he shared on-line, “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.”
Several NFL gamers saluted him on the time, as did league officers and advocates for LGBTQ points. In a message to Nassib and Kumi Yokoyama, a National Women’s Soccer League participant who got here out as a transgender man, President Biden wrote: “I’m so proud of your courage. Because of you, countless kids around the world are seeing themselves in a new light today.”
“LGBTQI+ visibility and representation can be lifesaving,” mentioned Joanna Hoffman, the director of communications for Athlete Ally, a corporation that goals to finish homophobia and transphobia in sports activities. “It’s especially meaningful in the NFL, where athletes have tremendous power to inspire teammates and fans towards allyship, and to show LGBTQI+ youth that they aren’t alone.
“Seeing Carl Nassib as an active NFL player and an out gay man,” Hoffman continued in a press release offered Wednesday, “is not just historic — it’s also a beacon for youth across the country who want to see that they can be exactly who they are and live their dreams.”
Another defensive finish, Michael Sam, had blazed a path by popping out earlier than the 2014 NFL draft. He was subsequently chosen within the seventh spherical by the St. Louis Rams however launched earlier than the beginning of the season and by no means performed an everyday season snap within the NFL. Sam then turned the first openly gay participant within the Canadian Football League when he took the sphere in August 2015 for the Montreal Alouettes.
Nassib mentioned this summer time that he had some trepidation about taking the step of sharing his video final 12 months.
“I stared at the phone for, like, an hour just looking at it, trying to hype myself up,” the 29-year-old Pennsylvania native advised “Good Morning America” correspondent Michael Strahan, a former NFL star, in July. “The last thing I said was, ‘You know what — for the kids.’ And I pressed post.”
Nassib added that, having come out to his family and friends years earlier than, he determined to make it public final 12 months to “own the story and make sure I did it on my terms.”
By the time Nassib made these feedback final month, he had been released by the Raiders, following a two-year stint that coincided with a turbulent interval for Las Vegas. Head coach Jon Gruden stepped down in October 2021 after the revelation of emails he had despatched that included racist, misogynistic and homophobic language.
In the wake of the Gruden scandal, Nassib was excused from group actions to take a private day.
“He just said he’s got a lot to process,” then-general supervisor Mike Mayock mentioned of Nassib on the time. “There’s a lot that’s been going on the last few days. And, of course, we support that.”
Gruden was changed on an interim foundation by Rich Bisaccia earlier than Josh McDaniels was employed in January to be the group’s new head coach. At the identical time, the Raiders introduced aboard a brand new common supervisor, Dave Ziegler, after they fired Mayock earlier within the month.
Now Nassib is set to reunite with General Manager Jason Licht, who has held that place for the Buccaneers since 2014, and Bowles, who was the group’s defensive coordinator for 3 years earlier than changing former head coach Bruce Arians in March.
After beginning his NFL journey with the Cleveland Browns, with whom he spent two seasons, Nassib loved a few of his best moments with the Buccaneers. Of his 22 profession sacks, 12.5 got here in a Tampa Bay uniform, as did 25 of his 53 quarterback hits.
Bowles praised Nassib on Tuesday as a sturdy run defender who can be deployed in several methods within the coach’s scheme.
“He’s a very good pass rusher on the outside, and he can also play inside in some nickel situations,” Bowles advised reporters. “He has a lot of versatility, he brings a lot of energy, brings a lot of toughness and he understands the system. He was comfortable in it [in his previous stint].”