Professional United Kingdom footballer Jake Daniels has become the first active player in the league to “come out” as gay and admitted he’s been “hiding the real me” for his whole life.
The Blackpool Football Club’s forward posted a lengthy message on the team’s website revealing that he’s known his “whole life” that he’s gay and said he’s finally ready to “come out and be myself” as he shares that he’s “been thinking for a long time about how I want to do it,” reported SkySports.com.
“This season has been a fantastic one for me on the pitch,” Daniels wrote. “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,” he added. “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.”
A message from Jake Daniels. https://t.co/R2wEsniXKV pic.twitter.com/dcznYKtSaD
— Blackpool FC (@BlackpoolFC) May 16, 2022
“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,” Daniels continued. “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.”
The professional soccer player closed out his post by sharing how he knows there are “people out there in the same space” like him and may not yet feel “comfortable revealing their sexuality.” He said he just wanted them to know that they “don’t have to change” who they are to fit in, and to be you and be happy is what “matters most.”
The outlet noted that Jake is the first professional footballer in the country to come out as gay in the last 30 years. Justin Fashanu shared his sexuality in 1990, later on in his career.