Nfl football players that are gay

Carl Nassib became the first openly gay active NFL player in A few years later, his historic announcement is being immortalized in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

Nassib's No. 94 Oakland Raiders jersey is being displayed at the museum in its "Entertainment Nation" display. While Nassib's jersey was first insert up May 21, the NFL tweeted about the honor Wednesday.

The jersey is the one worn by Nassib during the team's Week 1 game against the Baltimore Ravens in It was the first jersey worn by Nassib after he came out as gay.

Nassib initially revealed the Smithsonian news during an appearance on "The Pivot" podcast — hosted by former NFL player Ryan Clark — in May. During that interview, Nassib talked about his uncle, who served as an inspiration for Nassib to come out as gay.

Nassib spoke to the Washington Announce about his jersey being displayed in the Smithsonian, saying it was "really important that gay stories get told and remembered."

Nassib's announcement was met with help ar

"I&#;m the happiest and healthiest I&#;ve ever been in my life and that means the world to me."

Over the course of the NFL's year history, only a handful of players own ever come out as gay. In a sport where many players feel that their career could be at risk if they came out, it takes a lot of courage to authentically live their truth. In fact, it wasn't until that an active player actually opened up about his sexuality. But thanks to the bravery of all the players who verb decided to share their story so far, there's hope that the NFL will be a more inclusive place going forward.

Find out which football stars own come out as gay…

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1. Carl Nassib

Carl Nassib, who currently plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is the first active NFL player to come out as gay. In an Instagram video shared in June , Carl opened up about his sexuality and expressed his gratitude for the support he'd been given so far from his teammates and coaches.

"I just wanted to verb a quick moment to state that I'm gay," he sai

Carl Nassib: First active openly gay player 'historic' for NFL, says Ryan K Russell

Nassib, who plays as a tight end for the Las Vegas Raiders, described himself as a "private person" and said he hoped that in the future, videos of athletes coming out won't be necessary.

Yet for Russell - who himself came out in August - Nassib's name will now be synonymous when talking about key sporting moments involving LGBTQ+ athletes.

"We've been chipping away in terms of inclusion in the NFL and this is a historic landmark," he said. "A year ago, this didn't seem possible.

"More players are going to come out. More players are going to be themselves.

"How we received them and how we act now will not only affect professional athletes but also the young children that look up to them."

In the year history of the NFL, Nassib is the first active player to come out as gay although several players have done so after retirement or after leaving the league for other reasons.

In , Michael Sam became the first openly gay play

The jersey of West Chester native Carl Nassib is now on display at the Smithsonian'sNational Museum of American History, honoring his achievement as the first openly gay player to appear in an NFL regular-season game.

The Malvern Prep alum made the announcement while appearing on The Pivot Podcast, hosted by former NFL stars Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder on May 6.

The jersey on display is Nassib's No. 94 Las Vegas Raiders jersey from the team's season opener against the Baltimore Ravens — the first game he played after publicly coming out as gay in a social media post in June

In that game, he made a critical strip sack on Lamar Jackson in overtime that helped lead the Raiders to a victory. The jersey has been on display since May

"They reached out to me last year and said they wanted to add it to the collection. I said, absolutely. This is huge," Nassib said on the podcast. "I adore museums. I love history. I love football. I love the gays."

During the podcast, Nassib credited his late uncle, who was also gay and passed away from cancer, for inspiring hi