A teenage footballer will come out as gay in a televised interview next week in a bid to tackle the scourge of homophobia in the sport.
The last British pro to come out was Justin Fashanu in 1990, before he tragically took his own life eight years later, aged 37.
Openly gay
It was Blackpool FC’s Jake Daniels who has come out as gay in a televised interview today, becoming Britain’s only active openly gay professional player.
He is reportedly ‘very relaxed’ about his sexuality and has the full backing of his teammates and Championship club.
He told Sky Sports: “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 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.
He continues: “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.”
We wish him well in his career.
Praise
A lot of people praised him on Twitter:
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Related: Homophobic hate crime up more than 30 per cent in London