Raiders DE Carl Nassib: Publicly coming out 'was not easy'

The 28-year-old opened up about his decision to come out and the fear associated with it while appearing on Comeback Stories with Darren Waller and Donny Starkins on Thursday. (Waller is his teammate on the Raiders.)

"When I decided to come out, it was not easy," Nassib said. "I personally, for my life, I didn't want to do it. But again, I felt a huge obligation to my community—to all the young kids out there who are struggling with their sexuality. If I could just help a few of them out, then I really could sleep better at night."

The Penn State product explained that he "wasn't really trying to break any barriers" but had thought for a while about coming out—even considering it last year, "but 2020 was such a mess." Last season was his first with the Raiders, and COVID protocols made it difficult for him to feel comfortable around his new teammates.

Nassib revealed that he had been out to family and friends for years before publicizing his sexuality, so while it wasn't a big deal in his day-to-day life, his stature as an NFL player played a role:

"This job is very stressful, so like, a human being can only have so many stressors in their life. I thought about it every once in a while. Thought about how I wanted to do it, when I could do it. I didn't know how people would react. I wanted to make sure I was financially stable before I did it. I didn't know if it would ruin my career. I didn't know if guys would be supportive or not.

"… it wasn't like this huge secret that I was holding in. I had to take care of a lot of other business, and then once I took care of that business and established myself in the league, I was able to do this. Get in a good, comfortable spot—solidified spot to do it. 

"I just was really jealous of people who went through life as being somebody else's No. 1 priority. You know, as you get older, everyone's priorities shift. Your siblings that you grew up with have wives, have kids, all this stuff. Your best friends get married. They have kids. So late at night, you're just like, OK, am I anyone's No. 1 priority? And that's just the one thing that I wanted. I just wanted to be someone's No. 1 priority, and I couldn't have that. ... But I got that now, so it's good."

Yes, Nassib confirmed that he "met an awesome guy" who is "the best."

On the field, things are also going awesome. The 3-0 Raiders sit atop the AFC West, while Nassib has 1.5 sacks—just one away from his 14-game total from last season—and eight tackles while under a three-year, $25.25 million restructured contract in Las Vegas.

Watch his full interview below.