New NFL Video Proclaims 'Football Is Gay' In Support Of Carl Nassib

As Pride Month draws to a close, the National Football League has released an online video that proclaims “Football is gay.”

What Happened: Earlier this month, Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib announced he was gay, becoming the first active player within the NFL to self-identify as being part of the LGBTQ demographic. As part of his announcement, Nassib also stated he was donating $100,000 to the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ youth.

The NFL's new online video only reaffirmed its commitment to Nassib’s role within the league, but to present itself as tolerant and inclusive. The commercial begins with the words “Football is gay” printed in all capital letters. The word “gay” is then replaced with a series of words including “lesbian,” “beautiful,” “queer,” “exciting,” “culture,” “transgender,” “tough,” “power,” “bisexual,” “American,” “accepting” and “everything.”

The video ends with the words “Football is for everyone,” the NFL logo with the Pride rainbow flag incorporated into its design and the statement that the league “proudly supports” the Trevor Project.

Related Link: Carl Nassib Once Provided His Teammates A Lesson On Compound Interest, 10% Annual Returns

You can watch the video below:

Why It Matters: The NFL tweeted support for Nassib after he came out while stating it would match his donation to the Trevor Project, which the league supported as part of its Pride at NFL initiative.

Reaction on Twitter TWTR to the new video was mixed.

Among the social media supporters were Charlotte Clymer, transgender activist and former press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, who tweeted, “Forgive me for not being cynical, but seeing an @NFL commercial in which they state ‘football is transgender’ feels really big to me? That's huge. Wow.”

Videographer James Somerton was also happily surprised, tweeting, “Well this is something I never expected to see. What's next? Nascar?”

On the flip side, the Twitter account for “The Mike Essen Show” on BlogTalk Radio voiced disapproval by tweeting, “The @NFL has crossed the line by saying the #NFL is Gay. That’s a insult to every straight Person in the NFL, the players, coaches, fans etc!! I hope these left wingers fold #boycottNFL.”