Blackpool forward Jake Daniels becomes first pro footballer to come out as gay in 32 years

Blackpool forward Jake Daniels has become the first male professional footballer in England to come out as gay in 32 years.

The 17-year-old, who signed his first professional deal with Blackpool in February, made his senior debut for the Championship club earlier this month.

Daniels becomes the first male professional player in English football to come out as gay since Justin Fashanu in 1990.

‘Now is the right time to do it. I feel like I am ready to tell people my story. I want people to know the real me,’ Daniels said in an interview with News.

‘I have been thinking for a long time about how I want to do it, when I want to do it. I know now is the time. I am ready to be myself, be free and be confident with it all.

‘I can’t really put a date on it, but I was probably five or six years old when I knew I was gay. So it’s been a long time that I have been living with the lie.

‘At that age you don’t really think that football and being gay doesn’t mix. You just think, one day, when I’m older I’ll get a girlfriend and I will change and it will be fine.

‘But as you get older you realise you can’t just change. It doesn’t work like that.

‘I’ve did have girlfriends in the past, to try and make all my mates think I was straight, but it was just a massive cover-up. In school people even used to ask me: “Are you sure you aren’t gay?”. And I would reply, “no, I’m not”.

‘I wasn’t ready and it was a struggle but I just don’t want to lie any more.

‘For a long time I’ve thought I would have to hide my truth because I wanted to be, and now I am, a professional footballer. I asked myself if I should wait until I’ve retired to come out. No other player in the professional game here is out.

‘However, I knew that would lead to a long time of lying and not being able to be myself or lead the life that I want to.’

Daniels also spoke about the relief he felt when he told his family and his teammates at Blackpool about his sexuality.

‘Since I’ve come out to my family, my club and my team-mates, that period of overthinking everything and the stress it created has gone. It was impacting my mental heath. Now I am just confident and happy to be myself finally,’ said Daniels.

‘I first told my mum and my sister, who I live with. “Yeah, we already knew,” was how they reacted.

‘Then we told my whole family and at this point I was quite scared because I didn’t know how the older generation might react.

‘I needn’t have worried. I’ve had so many messages saying, “we are proud and we are supportive.” It’s been amazing. I couldn’t have wished for it to go better.

‘The day after I told my mum and sister, we played Accrington [in an under-18s fixture] and I scored four goals, so it just shows how much of a weight off the shoulders and what a massive relief it was.

‘And Blackpool have been absolutely amazing too. I am with them every day and I felt safe. My team-mates have all been so supportive about it and everyone has had my back. They’ve been asking tons of questions, they have all been intrigued and their reaction has been brilliant. It’s the best thing I could have asked for.

‘Of course, everyone was kind of shocked in a way and they were asking why I didn’t tell them earlier. That was a great reaction because it showed how much they cared.

‘The captain was one of the main people I told and he also asked me loads of questions. In the end he just said, “I’m just so proud of you”. It meant so much.’

Justin Fashanu became the first male British professional footballer to come out in 1990 before he took his own life eight years later at the age of 37.

Fashanu’s niece Amal, who runs the Justin Fashanu Foundation, fighting homophobia and racism in football, said of Daniels’ announcement: ‘The Justin Fashanu Foundation would like to commend Jake for the immense bravery he has shown today by taking this step in making his sexuality public. First and foremost this is an important moment for Jake, and it is wonderful to see that his friends and his family have been so supportive.

‘If my Uncle Justin were alive I know he would have been one of the first people to have contacted Jake to offer his support and best wishes. Justin’s wish was to create a society where people could simply be kinder to one another and where bigotry doesn’t exist.

‘Jake’s announcement will come as a huge comfort to the many footballers at all levels of the game – from grass roots to the professional leagues – still secretly living as gay and who still feel unable to come out.

‘I truly hope this announcement marks a turning point and that other footballers, who wish to do so, feel they can talk more openly about the life they lead off the field.

‘The sad reality is there is still a lot of homophobia in the game, at all levels. Until the authorities take firm and more decisive action I am concerned many players will continue to live in secret, wrongly believing they have something to be ashamed of.

‘Homophobia in the game needs to be treated with the zero tolerance approach racism rightly receives. Only then may we see more players, like Jake, willing to step out of the shadows – and live the life they truly wish to.’

Last October, Adelaide United’s Josh Cavallo became the only current top-flight male professional footballer in the world to come out.

The 22-year-old revealed in January that he was targeted by homophobic abuse during Adelaide’s A-League game against Melbourne Victory.

‘There are no words to tell you how disappointed I was. As a society this shows we still face these problems in 2022,’ Carvallo posted on Instagram after the game.

‘This shouldn’t be acceptable and we need to do more to hold this [sic] people accountable. Hate never will win. I will never apologise for living my truth and most recently who I am outside of football.’

Former Aston Villa midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger and ex-Hull City youth player Thomas Beattie both revealed they were gay after their careers had ended.

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