I hope others think if this kid is brave enough, I can be too...
INSPIRING DANIELS BECOMES UK’S FIRST OPENLY GAY MALE PRO FOOTBALLER IN 32 YEARS
JAKE DANIELS, the Uk’s first openly gay male professional footballer since 1990, wants yesterday’s landmark announcement to help others come out and remove the taboo surrounding homosexuality at the highest level of the game.
The Blackpool striker, 17, bravely revealed his sexuality on television, prompting a wave of support from players across all divisions, clubs and governing bodies.
Daniels, who has known he was gay for the majority of his life, had initially believed that he would have to conceal his true self for fear of the reaction within football. But, with the help of Blackpool, his family, team-mates and the charity Stonewall, the teenager hopes he can inspire others.
‘For a long time, I’ve thought I would have to hide my truth because I wanted to be a professional footballer,’ said Daniels. ‘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.
‘I am hoping that by coming out, I can be a role model, to help others come out if they want to. I am only 17 but I am clear that this is what I want to do and if, by me coming out, other people look at me and feel maybe they can do it as well, that would be brilliant.
‘If they think this kid is brave enough to do this, I will be able to do it, too. I hate knowing people are in the same situation I was in. I think, if a Premier League footballer does come out, that would just be amazing.
‘I feel like I would have done my job and inspired someone else to do that. I just want it to go up from here. We shouldn’t be where we are right now.
‘I know that every situation is different and that there are a lot of different factors for other people to consider that will scare them a lot, especially in football.
‘If you think you are ready, then speak to people. I know that’s such a hard thing to do. It was a hard thing for me to do, but just speak to the closest people around you. You are going to get support you need.’
Daniels made his first-team debut earlier this month, coming off the bench during Blackpool’s final game of the Championship season away to Peterborough United. The teenager signed pro terms with his boyhood club a day after scoring in the Fa Youth Cup against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in February and landed a sponsorship deal with adidas last week.
One of the brightest prospects from the club’s academy for years, the striker — who started out as a winger — first joined the club’s youth ranks aged seven and scored 30 goals for the youth team this season.
Daniels confided in Blackpool’s head of education, welfare and player care, Will Cowell, at the turn of the year and has received overwhelming support from his team-mates after talking to Under-18s captain Michael Fitzgerald.
Sky’s interview was conducted last week and has been carefully managed with the player, his family and representative Billy Bingham. Blackpool have worked closely with Stonewall to support Daniels and are ‘incredibly proud that he has reached a stage where he is empowered to express himself both on and off the pitch’.
Daniels added: ‘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.
‘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. I am ready to be myself, be free and be confident with it all.
‘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 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. It was impacting my mental health.’
Daniels scored four goals in an Under-18s fixture against accrington a day after coming out to his mother and sister. He commended Blackpool for their support and his news was met with overwhelming positivity last night.
‘My team-mates have all been so supportive about it and everyone has had my back,’ he said.
‘They’ve been asking lots of questions, they have all been intrigued and their reaction has been brilliant. It’s the best thing I could have asked for.
‘Everyone was 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.
‘The subject of being gay, or bi or queer, in men’s football is still a taboo. I think it comes down to how a lot of footballers want to be known for their masculinity.
‘And people see being gay as being weak, something you can be picked on for on the football field.
‘Of course I am aware that there will be a reaction to this and some of it will be homophobic, maybe in a stadium and on social media.
‘It’s an easy thing for people to target. The way I see it is that I am playing football and they are shouting stuff at me, but they are paying to watch me play football and I am living my life and making money from it. So shout what you want. It’s not going to make a difference. I won’t stop people from saying that stuff. I just need to learn how to not let it affect me.’
The Justin Fashanu Foundation last night praised Daniels for his immense bravery. The statement read: ‘Jake’s announcement will come as a huge comfort to the many footballers at all levels of the game — from grassroots 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.’
Blackpool and the PFA both released statements in support of Daniels, with EFL chief executive Trevor Birch saying: ‘Coming out publicly in professional football will have taken great courage and I have huge admiration for Jake Daniels’ decision to do so. This will no doubt serve as an inspiration to people everywhere and Jake has the full support of the EFL.
‘As our national sport, football has a huge role to play as we seek to promote equality of all forms. We hope that this moment helps take us forward to a time where LGBTQ+ representation at all levels of the men’s professional game is the norm.’
Football v Homophobia said: ‘Football v Homophobia would like to congratulate Jake on taking this step to share his authentic self in the men’s professional game, especially at such a young age.
‘There have previously been players who felt that they had no place in the game as out gay men during their playing careers, but Jake is showing the world that you can be yourself.
‘We hope that football will join us in celebrating Jake’s news and take proactive steps to ensure he receives the support he deserves from players, fans, clubs and the football authorities.’