Later that year, he came out as gay, becoming the first prominent football player in England to do so.įashanu took his own life eight years later in a garage in London at the age of 37. He then bounced from Leyton Orient to non-league Southall and then Leatherhead, a semi-pro club. He went on to become the first black footballer to command a £1 million transfer fee from Norwich City to Nottingham Forest.Ī serious knee injury took him to the US for treatment and he played for a handful of North American sides before he returned to England in 1990.
The first professional football player to come out as gay was Justin Fashanu who came out in 1990.įashanu made his pro debut with Norwich City in 1979 and played for a handful of clubs including Nottingham Forest and Brighton & Hove Albion. 'And then in school, everyone always used to ask me 'are you sure you're not gay' and it was like 'no I'm not' because I wasn't ready but I just don't want to lie anymore.'Īfter scoring 30 goals for U18 side and being named the club's top youth player of last season, Daniels made his senior debut with the club this month in the team's 5-0 loss to Peterborough.
He told Sky Sports: 'I've had girlfriends in the past to try and make all my mates think that I'm straight and it was just a massive cover up so it has been a struggle. Other players have come out after their careers were over, including former Aston Villa player Thomas Hitzlsperger, 40, and ex-Hull City youth's Thomas Beattie, 35.ĭaniels, who has been with Blackpool FC since the age of seven, said he first realised he was gay at the age of five or six but thought it would be something that would change as he got older because football and being gay 'didn't really mix'. Josh Cavallo, 22, who plays for Australian team Adelaide United, came out as gay last year to then become the only out pro in the world. Now I can just live my life how I want to and you know what? It's been incredible.' 'So this was the one last thing in my head that I knew I needed to do. When this season started, I just wanted to prove myself as a player. Everything has happened at once but it feels right. I've scored 30 goals this season and I've just made my first team debut in the Championship, coming off the bench against Peterborough.
He told Sky Sports: 'It's been quite a crazy year.
'It has been a struggle but now I do feel I am ready to be myself and be free and just be confident with it all.'ĭaniels, described as 'an inspiration to us all' by the Prime Minister, is the first Briton in the men's professional game to come out publicly as gay since Justin Fashanu in 1990 at the age of 29. 'I want people to know the real me and lying all the time just isn't what I wanted to do. Speaking in an interview with Sky News, he said: 'I just processed and processed every day about how I want to do it, when I want to do it and I feel like now is just the right time - you know I feel like I'm ready to tell people about my story. The 17-year-old is only the second top-flight British football player to come out and he made the move in a bid to tackle the scourge of homophobia in the sport.ĭaniels was 'keen to break the stigma' and has become the only openly gay male pro currently playing in the country, and the second in the world in a trailblazing moment for the men's game.
Blackpool FC's Jake Daniels has come out as gay in a televised interview today, becoming Britain's only active openly gay professional player.