Carl Nassib’s Resurfaced Podcast Clip Highlights Evolving NFL Culture Around LGBTQ+ Respect

In a newly resurfaced clip from The Pivot Podcast, former NFL defensive end and linebacker Carl Nassib recalls a pre–coming out moment in the locker room that upends long-standing assumptions about homophobia in professional football. The story, shared earlier this year but now circulating widely again, has resonated with fans and LGBTQ+ audiences for the way it highlights unexpected allyship from Nassib’s teammates before he publicly came out as gay.

During the episode of The Pivot Podcast with hosts and former NFL players Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor, and Channing Crowder, Nassib describes using “gay” as a pejorative term in frustration over a play call, only to be immediately checked by several of his teammates. According to Nassib’s retelling, a group of “five massive dudes” challenged his language in unison, making clear that using “gay” as an insult was not acceptable in their locker room. He recounts the moment as both humbling and ironic, given that he himself was closeted at the time.

Nassib points out this irony directly in the clip, emphasizing that he was the one deploying a slur while still hiding his sexual orientation, and that it was his straight teammates who stepped in to shut it down. He acknowledges that his comment came from a place of ignorance and internalized attitudes, even as he jokes about the football context by adding, “but stop running boots!” to refer to the offensive play that sparked his outburst. The mix of humor and self-critique has helped the story gain traction online, particularly among LGBTQ+ fans who recognize how internalized stigma can show up even for people who are themselves part of the community.

The resurfaced clip is part of a longer, wide-ranging conversation Nassib had on The Pivot Podcast earlier in the year, where he detailed his journey from college football at Penn State to the NFL, his decision to come out, and his life after retiring from professional play. Nassib, who made history in June 2021 when he publicly came out as gay while on the roster of the Las Vegas Raiders, remains the first active NFL player to have done so.

In that 2025 interview, Nassib reflected on the broader impact of his announcement, saying that he hoped for “a world where you don’t have to come out of the closet because you never have to go in,” framing visibility as a pathway toward seeing each other’s shared humanity rather than focusing only on difference. He also discussed how his coming out intersected with his on-field career, including stints with the Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Las Vegas Raiders, and how that experience informed his ongoing advocacy.

Nassib officially retired from the NFL in September 2023, announcing his decision on Instagram and describing it as difficult but ultimately the right step for the next phase of his life. Since then, he has continued to be active as an advocate for LGBTQ+ youth and inclusive sports environments, appearing on panels around the world and speaking about authenticity, mental health, and representation.

His advocacy work has included a sustained focus on supporting The Trevor Project, an organization that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ young people. When Nassib first came out publicly in 2021, he pledged a $100,000 donation to The Trevor Project, which the National Football League matched, using his platform to highlight life-saving resources for queer and questioning youth. This alignment between his personal story and his public advocacy has made him a significant figure in conversations about LGBTQ+ inclusion in elite sports.

The anecdote from The Pivot Podcast is drawing attention in part because it challenges familiar narratives about professional sports spaces as uniformly hostile to LGBTQ+ people. In Nassib’s telling, it is not a coach or league office enforcing a policy, but fellow players—described as large, physically imposing teammates—who collectively set the tone by rejecting homophobic language in real time.

For many LGBTQ+ athletes and fans, that detail underscores how peer accountability can drive cultural change, making locker rooms safer and more respectful long before official diversity statements or corporate campaigns reach the field. At the same time, Nassib’s admission that he was “ignorant” in using the word “gay” as an insult while still concealing his own identity mirrors a familiar pattern for some closeted athletes, who may adopt or tolerate harmful language as a way of blending in.

Nassib’s story continues to be cited in discussions about LGBTQ+ representation across sports, particularly for young athletes who are weighing whether it is safe to be open about who they are. His reflections on coming out, including his comments about wanting future generations never to feel forced into the closet, have been framed by media outlets as a source of encouragement for LGBTQ+ youth navigating team environments.

The renewed visibility of this podcast clip adds another layer to that impact by illustrating that allyship can come from unexpected places—and that growth, including acknowledging past mistakes, is part of building more inclusive cultures in sports and beyond.