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Las Vegas Raiders' Carl Nassib made history last offseason when he became the first active NFL player to openly declare himself gay. Other former players have opened up post-retirement.
Another college player, Michael Sam, declared himself gay before the 2014 NFL draft. However, he was never activated for an NFL regular-season game.
Nassib has now made public that he's dating someone. During his appearance on the Comeback Stories podcast, hosted by Raiders teammate Darren Waller, Nassib revealed that he was in a relationship. While he did not reveal the identity of his partner on the podcast, the internet was quick to find out who it was.
Who is Carl Nassib's boyfriend?
Carl Nassib's boyfriend is a man named Erik Gudzinas. He's been sharing lovely pics of the couple together for a while. They were together when Nassib and the Raiders went to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers in Week 2.
It's unclear when the pair's relationship began, but Nassib seems to be very happy about Gudzinas, as he stated in the podcast:
"My desire [was] to be someone’s number one priority. And I couldn’t have that, so that was the one thing, I was like ‘man I really f****** want that. But I got that now, so it’s good. I met an awesome guy. He’s the best.”
Why has Nassib decided to open up his private life?
Nassib also talked on the podcast about why he thought it was important for him to let everyone know about his sexual orientation:
“I did it because I felt an obligation to the LGBTQ+ community to bring representation – to bring visibility – to a very, very popular industry that doesn’t have a lot of representation,” he explained. "It wasn’t easy. 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 out then I really could sleep better at night.”
Nassib's actions backed his words. When he made the public announcement, he also donated $100,000 to the Trevor Project, a non-governmental organization that helps prevents LGBTQ+ kids from committing suicide.
The defender has also been important for the Raiders' 3-0 start. He's usually a backup to starters Yannick Ngakoue and Maxx Crosby, who are both in fantastic form over the first three games. However, Nassib has 1.5 sacks from the first few games. It includes a strip-sack on Lamar Jackson during the nail-bitter season opener against the Baltimore Ravens.
Nassib seems to be having a happy life with his partner. Acts of courage like Nassib has shown to come out to the world, makes it a better place to live in.
