Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Carl Nassib this week became the first active NFL player to come out as gay. And with his announcement, the Las Vegas Raiders defensive end joins a small group of openly gay men in professional sports.
Many of the history makers who preceded him shared in his joy.
Former NBA center Jason Collins, who came out in 2013 and became the first openly gay athlete in any of the four major U.S. sports leagues, wrote that he was "very proud" of Nassib.
"Incredibly happy for him and can't wait to watch him play this upcoming season!" Collins tweeted.
Collins only continued to play professionally for a few days after coming out. In 2014, under a 10-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets, he made history again as the first openly gay man to play in an NBA game.
Nassib has a predecessor, too, in Michael Sam, who came out in 2014 ahead of the NFL draft. When he was eventually selected in the seventh round of the draft by the St. Louis Rams, he kissed his boyfriend in celebration -- a moment that was ridiculed by some fellow and former NFL players.
In a tweet, he thanked Nassib for "owning [his] truth" and for making a US$100,000 donation to the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention service for LGBTQ2S+ youth.
"LBGTQ people are more likely to commit suicide than heterosexuals," Sam wrote. "I hope and pray people will take note to this. Thank you again Carl and look forward to seeing you play on the field."
Sam never got to play with the Rams -- he was released by the team that same year, a decision former Rams coach Jeff Fisher said was purely motivated by the game, not Sam's sexuality.
NFL veteran Ryan Russell, who is bisexual, told CNN that Nassib's coming out is "a moment of celebration ... not only for Nassib as a person and as a player but for the NFL" and sports as a whole.
"I have no doubt that this announcement for Carl will enhance his game, will enhance his physical edge, his physical prowess and allow him to have hopefully the best season that we have seen him have in his career," Russell said in a Tuesday appearance on CNN's New Day.
Billy Bean, a former MLB player who now serves as the league's vice president and special assistant to the commissioner, came out only after he'd retired. He called Nassib's coming out a "big announcement" and thanked him. (In Minor League Baseball, David Denson, who was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers, came out in 2015 before retiring two years later.)
Robbie Rogers, a former professional soccer player with the Los Angeles Galaxy, came out in 2013 -- the first American soccer player to do so. He called Nassib's disclosure "inspiring."
In his social media announcement, Nassib spoke of the support he's received from his family and teammates and the overwhelming happiness he felt in asserting his sexuality.
Not every pro athlete who's come out has felt the same sense of joy and ease upon their announcement -- most of them came out before same-sex marriage was even legalized in the U.S. -- but they're sharing in Nassib's joy now and lifting him up while he makes history.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Black youth in Canada face multiple barriers in getting access to mental health services — and health-care providers can make the situation more difficult, experts say.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Golf is a sign of spring and summer and a major driver for seasonal tourism, experts say.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.