Nassib told me over the phone months ago that he wasn’t sure if he wanted to return to playing in the NFL. He has been a powerful voice for LGBTQ inclusion in the NBA ever since. Rogers fell in love with Hollywood producer Greg Berlanti and, after injuries took their toll, retired and has become a successful entertainment producer himself.Ĭollins retired after 13 seasons in the NBA, coming off the bench well before he came out and contributing as a back-up. The three who have retired - Rogers, Collins and now Nassib - have done so on their own terms. While he came out while playing for the Minnesota United, he had been going back and forth between MLS clubs and the USL. The fourth player is soccer player Collin Martin, whose career seems to have been unaffected by coming out. Both teams with Nassib on the roster went to the NFL Playoffs. Nassib famously made a game-saving sack-fumble in his first game for the Las Vegas Raiders after coming out publicly, eventually signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the season. The Nets then went on a win streak after his signing, going 19-8 to end the regular season and pulling off a first-round upset of the Toronto Raptors, winning Game 7 in Toronto. Collins was later signed by the Brooklyn Nets. Jason Collins came out publicly a couple months after Rogers, when his contract with the Washington Wizards had ended. Rogers went on to play a key role in the Galaxy’s MLS Cup title - the second of his career - 18 months later. After coming out, the LA Galaxy traded the then-leading-scorer in Major League Soccer and eventual league MVP - Mike Magee - to the Fire for Rogers, who never took the pitch for the Fire and hadn’t played in the U.S. Robbie Rogers came out in 2013 while signed with the Chicago Fire. We’ve now had four active, rostered players come out publicly in the men’s Big Five sports. Yet there is still a false notion that gay men can’t be out and successful in American pro sports. Carl Nassib has retired from playing in the NFL, joining a legacy of out gay athletes in major men’s pro sports who have come out and found success.
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