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.’
JAKE DANIELS' MESSAGE TO BLACKPOOL FANS
This season has been a fantastic one for me on the pitch. I’ve made my first-team debut, scored 30 goals for the youth team, signed my first professional contract and shared success with my team-mates, going on a great run in the FA Youth Cup and lifting the Lancashire FA Pro-Youth Cup.
But off the pitch I’ve been hiding the real me and who I really am. I’ve known my whole life that I’m gay, and I now feel that I’m ready to come out and be myself.
It’s a step into the unknown being one of the first footballers in this country to reveal my sexuality, but I’ve been inspired by Josh Cavallo, Matt Morton and athletes from other sports, like Tom Daley, to have the courage and determination to drive change.
In reaching this point, I’ve had some of the best support and advice from my family, my Club, my agent and Stonewall, who have all been incredibly pro-active in putting my interests and welfare first. I have also confided in my team-mates in the youth team here at Blackpool, and they too have embraced the news and supported my decision to open up and tell people.
I’ve hated lying my whole life and feeling the need to change to fit in. I want to be a role model myself by doing this.
There are people out there in the same space as me that may not feel comfortable revealing their sexuality. I just want to tell them that you don’t have to change who you are, or how you should be, just to fit in.
You being you, and being happy, is what matters most.
Jake
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.’
STATEMENT FROM BLACKPOOL
“Blackpool Football Club has worked closely with Stonewall and the relevant footballing organisations to support Jake and is incredibly proud that he has reached a stage where he is empowered to express himself both on-and-off the pitch.
“It is vital that we all promote an environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves, and that football leads the way in removing any form of discrimination and prejudice.”
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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