The Las Vegas Raiders have donated $100,000 to The Trevor Project, matching the contribution made by defenseman Carl Nassib when he came out as gay in an Instagram post in 2021.
Nassib's announcement made him the first openly gay active player in the NFL, and he immediately added that he would be joining forces with the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention charity for LGBTQ+ youth.
The Raiders stood behind Nassib from the start, and on Tuesday announced their donation to the Trevor Project.
"The Raiders are proud to match Carl's generous donation to support the Trevor Project and the important work this organization is doing to serve the LGBTQ community," Raiders president Dan Ventrelle said in a statement, per Outsports.
"Diversity, equality, and inclusion are core values of the Las Vegas Raiders, and we appreciate the effort that both Carl and the Trevor Project have put toward advancing these principles."
Bringing LGBTQ+ representation and visibility to the NFL and sports.
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) March 1, 2022
Carl Nassib's courageous story was shared last year and we are standing with him to match his $100,000 donation to The @TrevorProject. To learn more visit https://t.co/BitjmwH51Q pic.twitter.com/8FHuOX1uK1
Nassib responded to the Raiders' post with one of his own, addressing team owner Mark Davis: "Enormous thank you to Mr. Davis. He and the Raiders organization have supported me every step of the way and now he has truly outdone himself. Thank you!"
In the video posted by the Raiders, Nassib, who is free agent this offseason, again reiterated that his intention in coming out publicly was to help young people who might not have the same support he has had.
READ: 17 athletes from around the world tell their coming out stories
Nassib said: "I had wanted to do it [come out] for a really long time. I wanted to be in a place where I felt totally comfortable, totally confident to give a voice to people who really needed it the most.
"I was with my friends and family and it definitely was a stressful thing to do, but we were really excited to spread the message of the Trevor Project to bring visibility and representation to the NFL, to sports, and we did it for the youth, for the kids who are struggling the most.
"That's who I'm most passionate about and to be able to say I helped them is absolutely incredible."
The Raiders are not the first organisation to match Nassib's contribution to the charity, with the NFL matching the $100,000 that same week in June last year.