Celebrating Pride Month: Carl Nassib, first active NFL player to come out

Carl Nassib, April 12, 1993 in West Chester, Pennsylvania, became the first active NFL player to come out as gay.  Nassib played football at Pennsylvania State University where he was voted All-American in 2015.  

He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the 2016 NFL draft in the third round, as the 65th pick.  He was waived by the Browns in 2018. 

In September 2018, he was hired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and played two seasons.  He signed a three-year contract with the Las Vegas Raiders in March 2020. 

During the 2021 season opener, the Raiders defeated the Ravens on Monday Night Football and became the first openly gay player in the NFL.  He was released by the Raiders in March 2022.

He signed a one-year deal with the Buccaneers and in September 2023, announced his retirement.

Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month: Ignacio Molinet, first Hispanic player in the NFL

Ignacio "Lou" Molinet, born November 30, 1904 in Chaparra, Cuba, is the first Cuban and first Latin American to play in the National Football League. He attended Peddie School in New Jersey, and then enrolled in Cornell University, where he lettered twice in both basketball and football.  After his parents died after his sophomore year, he remained in Cuba.  

The Frankford Athletic Association contacted him to play for the Frankford Yellow Jackets, who were the defending NFL champion at the time, so he returned.  

In 1927, he rushed for 75 yards and passed for another 35 yards.  He caught several passes, and he scored a touchdown in a win over the Buffalo Bison. However, the Yellow Jackets fell below 0.500 and placed 7th in the standings.  Molinet returned to Cornell after only one season in the NFL, and finished his degree.

He passed away in August 1977.

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: Jim Thorpe: the world's greatest athlete

Jim Thorpe, born May 1887 in Prague, Indian Territory (east of Oklahoma City), has been named the world's greatest athlete.  He was a member of the Sac and Fox nations, and became the first Native American to win a gold medal at the Olympics in 1912, for the pentathlon and decathlon.  His Olympic medals were lost when it was found he had been playing semi-professional baseball, which violated the amateur rules in place.  In 1983, the International Olympic Committee restored his medals, thirty years after his death.  

He was a two-time All-American in football.  He played six seasons in the Major League Baseball from 1913-1919.  He played for the Canton Bulldogs in 1915 and helped them win three professional championships.  He played for six teams in the NFL.  

From 1920-1921, he was the first president of the American Professional Football Association, which became the NFL in 1922

He passed away in March 1953.