One week after Carl Nassib became the first active NFL player to announce he is gay, the league released a new commercial, pledging their support for the LGBTQ+ community.
The 30-second commercial opens with the message “Football is gay,” as light cheering begins to build in the background.
“Football is lesbian. Football is beautiful. Football is queer,” the video adds. “Football is life. Football is exciting. Football is culture. Football is transgender…Football is bisexual. Football is strong.”
The messages continue, “Football is freedom. Football is American. Football is accepting,” before closing with “Football is for everyone.”
The commercial comes out as Pride Month nears an end, but according to Outsports, a spokesperson for the NFL acknowledged the video was created as a direct response to Nassib’s announcement that he is gay.
“I am proud of the clear message this spot sends to the NFL’s LGBTQ+ fans: This game is unquestionably for you,” NFL senior director of diversity, equity and inclusion, Sam Rapoport, added to Outsports. “I will be playing its first line over and over in my head all
When Nassib came out publicly last week, the Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman also donated $100,000 to the Trevor Project, a nonprofit that provides assistance and suicide prevention for LGBTQ youth. The end of the NFL’s commercial features support of The Trevor Project, stating “LGBTQ+ youth with at least one accepting adult in their lives have 40 percent lower risk of attempting suicide.”