A year later, NFL free agent Carl Nassib says he agonized over decision to come out publicly

Carl Nassib decided to be gay in June 2021.

Nassib, who is a free agent after being released by the Las Vegas Raiders earlier this year, told "Good Morning America" co-anchor Michael Strahan that he "stared at the phone for an hour just looking at it."

I said "You know what" for the kids. Also pressed post.

Nassib is the first openly gay active player in the National Football League. He said that he was met with the most incredible support from his teammates.

He wanted to show that it doesn't matter if you're gay.

Nassib said he wanted to tell kids who might be struggling that they have support from a large community of people.

He said that they are making strides in the right direction. It won't be a perfect road, but we have to keep going and make sure that we do it from a place of love and not from a place of animosity.

He hopes that people won't be afraid of coming out, and that announcements like his will not be needed.

"That's the society I would like to see in the future," he said. I hope I can make a difference in that direction.

The Raiders donated $100,000 to The Trevor Project. Nassib contributed at the time of his announcement.

Nassib said he has a lot of love for Las Vegas. He said the best scenario for him was the chance to show what he had. There's a lot of stuff in the tank.