The NFL's first openly gay player feared coming out would ruin his career

• Carl Nassib, the NFL's first openly gay player, says he feared coming out would ruin his career.
• The Las Vegas Raiders defensive end came out as gay in a heartfelt social media post in June.
• "I didn't know if guys would be supportive or not," he told podcast "Comeback Stories."

Carl Nassib, the NFL's first ever openly gay player, says he feared coming out would ruin his career.

The Las Vegas Raiders defensive end came out as gay in a heartfelt social media post in June.

The 28-year-old described himself as a "pretty private person," but said he decided to share his sexuality because "representation and visibility are so important."

His announcement was met with support from all over the NFL, including from the Raiders, which shared screenshots of Nassib's post on Twitter with the caption: "Proud of you, Carl."

Speaking on teammate Darren Waller's podcast "Comeback Stories" on Thursday, Nassib admitted he was fearful the response would not have been so kind.

"I thought about it every once in a while," he said. "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."

Nassib went on to explain that he knew he was gay around four years ago, but that he was reluctant to come out while trying to establish himself in the NFL.

In the end, he decided to do so because he felt it was the right thing to do for the broader the LGBTQ community.

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

"I didn't do it to break barriers," he added.

"I did it because I felt an obligation to the LGBTQ community to bring representation and visibility to a very, very popular entertainment business and industry that doesn't have a lot of representation."