Tampa Bay Buccaneers bring back Carl Nassib

The NFL's first openly gay active player, Carl Nassib, is rejoining the Bucs.

Why it matters: It's a big win for LGBTQ Floridians as the community fights the governor and the legislature over school policies and health care.

Flashback: This will be Nassib's second stint in Tampa Bay. He played two seasons with the Bucs prior to joining the Las Vegas Raiders for two seasons in 2020. He was voted by teammates as one of six team captains with the Bucs in 2019.

• As part of his coming out last June, he donated $100,000 to the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention service for LGBTQ youth in the U.S. The NFL matched his contribution.
• A day after he came out, his jersey became the top-selling jersey in the league.

Context: LGBTQ representation in sports has also been a battle in Florida, as transgender women and girls are banned from women and girl's sports.

• The Rays' Pride night in June drew attention to players who chose not to wear rainbow attire because they didn't want to encourage the "lifestyle" of those in the LGBTQ+ community.