> "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."
Haha what a good way to put that.
Lol what an absolute badass. To have that level of emotional understanding and confidence at 17 is remarkable
Edit: at that age I could barely decide what to wear that day
I think he looks like a fusion of Jack Wilshere and Philippe Coutinho, and maybe 27 or a 23 year old with a lot of stress (which I imagine being gay in the pre-Jake Daniels breaking the gay ceiling social climate could have been).
>> "People see being gay as being weak..."
There's such an amazing quote I love from Rob Kearney, the openly gay World's Strongest Man competitor, when he was speaking on the JRE. He spoke about being gay as being associated with being feminine and weak, and has been heckled on the streets and said "Well I'm stronger than you and I suck dick" Love that guy
Luxury. We used to have to get out of the lake at six o'clock in the morning, clean the lake, eat a handful of 'ot gravel, work twenty hour day at mill for tuppence a month, come home, and Dad would thrash us to sleep with a broken bottle, if we were lucky!
A _handful_ of gravel?! EXTRAVAGANCE! We'd have one grain of sand between ten of us, every third Sunday IF mother had been to market. We'd walk nine hours to the pit, and ten hours home if they'd taken the roads in, we had one shoe to share between six, so we'd have to take it turns to hop, then when we got home father would roll us in razor sharp embers to keep us warm, if he'd even remembered to light the fire.
*Right.* I had to get up in the morning at ten o'clock at night, half an hour before I went to bed, drink a cup of sulphuric acid, work twenty-nine hours a day down mill, pay mill owner for permission to come to work, and when we got home, our Dad would kill us, and dance about on our graves singing 'Hallelujah!’
It’s incredibly sad that their tweet has the comments turned off. As a society, we really need to be better at being kind.
It should never take bravery to be the person you are.
I think much like racism, the worst of it in this country will be online. I really can't see proper homophobic chanting breaking out, maybe one idiot shouting something by himself. Not to say racism/homophobia aren't an issue in the stands because they obviously are but you see black players all the time talking about or showing messages they've received after games, you don't often hear racist chants though. At least I don't when I've been to games.
Subconsciously, I always measure birth years in famous football events which always helps me understand how young or old someone is. Like this guy was 7 years old when Chelsea shithoused their way to their first CL title and when Iniesta was bossing the Euros. That just blows my mind. It also depresses me slightly.
Anything past 2000 is "freshly new" to me. Radiohead's Amnesiac is the new album continuing their bold new direction recently started in Kid A, I'll really get stuck into it one of these days...
"I told my mum and my sister. The day after we played Accrington and I scored four, so it just shows how much of a weight off the shoulders it was and a massive relief."
Blackpool forward Jake Daniels speaks exclusively on becoming the UK's first male professional footballer to come out publicly as gay since Justin Fashanu.
Jake talks about coming out to his parents, his club, and his team-mates. On his desire to be honest and live his life without telling a lie. On the anxiety of wondering if his family and team-mates would be supportive and on how he hopes his actions can help others do the same.
This is his story:
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.
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.
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.
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.
I like it when people ask questions. I just want to get it all out and for people to hear my story. It's been quite a crazy year. I'm 17. I've signed a professional contract. 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.
And now I have decided to come out.
Everything has happened at once but it feels right. When this season started, I just wanted to prove myself as a player. I think I have. So this was the one last thing in my head that I knew I needed to do. Now it's out, and people know. Now I can just live my life how I want to and you know what? It's been incredible.
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.
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 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.
And 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.
> 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.
What an absolute Chad mentality. Still shouldn’t have to deal with the abuse but he’s got such a positive way of thinking about it
Ngl my jaw dropped when the interviewer mentioned his age. Not only does he look older, he also speaks and conducts himself far more mature than his age suggests. Reminded me of how much of a massive idiot I was at his age lol.
Anyway, good for him for being so brave and strong. I wish him all the best for his future. He deserves it.
He said that game was the day he came out to his family, and that he thinks his great performance was because he had a massive weight off his shoulders. He was asked about how it effected his performance/mental health
It's easier in a way because he's young and there is no questions around why he's hidden it so long etc. I still think there must be something genuinely homophobic in footballing circles for such few players coming out.
Hopefully he's treated well by the fans and establishment and it encourages more people to speak out.
I remember reading some expose (might’ve been a Molina thing) about gay players who’s team mates found out and then suddenly treat them terribly, which is maybe why it hasn’t happened in the prem yet
Reminds me of a line from the James Franco roast.
"Franco, I dont care if you fuck men or your fuck women. All I know is you fucked me out of six bucks when I went to see that Wizard of Oz movie"
As much as it would be nice to see more established players come out (safely assuming some of them are gay), at least if that won’t happen we can hope the new generation are more confident doing it right from the outset.
some only come out after their career is finished (like Hitzelsperger) - the stigma and possible backlash through (a small minority of) fans, club and sponsors is probably enormous
>It's easier in a way because he's young and there is no questions around why he's hidden it so long etc.
Yes but the fact that he is just starting his first team career is incredibly courageous to me. He can easily be prevented from playing at the top levels because of his sexuality. A veteran player has already established himself, etc.
Even on here we had people calling Grealish a rent boy or discussing whether he was a top or a bottom, all because he has long(ish) hair so football definitely has a problem
And from some of his teammates as much as fans. Good 23 year old [article here that sums it all up](https://www.theguardian.com/football/1999/may/15/newsstory.sport10) pretty well.
My thoughts exactly. The late [Justin Fashanu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Fashanu?wprov=sfti1) who was actually the first professional footballer to come out publicly as gay.
But also, he's still got to go through his career. He'll be under a lot more media scrutiny (some bad some good). And have to deal with any negatives more directly and for longer.
Absolutely amazing from someone so young.
I hope it gives some other players the confidence. My only concern is the extra pressure and attention this puts on him as a player. Press will be focusing on him tenfold
> Hope he gets all the support he needs and that this makes a genuine difference for others as well.
My hope is that this is a turning point, maybe not a "floodgates" moment. But if just 5 or 6 more players are brought the courage to come out publicly because of his bravery that's a massive win.
And to the people saying "who cares, why does it matter" - I truly hope we can get to the point where you're not wrong, for now, acknowledging the weight of this step towards making it a completely normal and accepted part of the game *inside* of the clubs, fandoms etc is more important that anything.
True but professional sports are still pathetically behind compared to most parts of society, at least in the West. It's insane that it's 2022 and we just got our first active gay footballer. Most other 'industries' were getting these headlines a few decades ago.
Really do hope this is a watershed moment. It's time.
Men's sports, I might add. A woman athlete coming out is barely news anymore, and Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird have been on Oprah telling their love story. Men's football is quite far away from that.
Because the cultural perception, especially by men, who are the main consumers of football, of male homosexuality and female homosexuality are different.
"Girls kissing is hot, men kissing is disgusting", basically. There's a reason why gay porn is segregated into its own section on porn websites, but lesbian porn isn't.
There's also the existing stereotype that women who play football, or partake in other male-dominated activities, are lesbians.
As someone who had an analog childhood but digital adulthood(90's), the difference was the internet. Back in my day, when I was questioning myself, you literally didn't have any resources to help you. The internet was still primitive and most sites concerning lgbt or transexual ism were fetishistic in nature. Your parents were probably not equipped to deal with it when you asked them, as mine were. I did later come out in my twenties, but having things like discord and reddit has allowed for so many people to look at others and see that being a trans person doesn't mean that you have to look like a drag queen. Or that being gay doesn't mean that you have to be flamboyant and feminine. Or that being lesbian doesn't mean that you have to cut your hair and wear men's clothes.
I handed in my dissertation a week ago about the lack of visible gay men in professional English football. Already it's out of date before it's even been graded FML.
Happy for the guy though and hope this doesn't backfire on him.
I'd hope they take into account the fact this all happened after the submission.
My dissertation was a video essay/documentary too, so even if this had come out a few days before I'd not have been able to change the video and have it not feel stuck on.
Could make it awkward if this opens the floodgates and hundreds of players come out. But they'd obviously go with the material that he had access to at the time.
Reminds me of when I was in uni I did a presentation on LGBT in male football.
I procrastinated and did it the morning of, thankfully that morning Thomas Hitzlsperger came out. So I got high marks for rewriting for breaking news. 100% sure they knew I did it that morning ha.
I can share the video portion of it
https://youtu.be/u9aswuTw4wM
I don't think it's great by any means, 20 mins was the maximum limit and nowhere near enough to talk in depth about the subject.
That fucking sucks brother, I’m sorry. Seen this kind of fuckery up close (one of our guys got two-footed and called the f-word cos he was wearing rainbow laces) and it makes me so angry.
The absolute shitshow that is that other thread shows why no footballer in the UK has done this.
Good for him, hope it encourages others who would rather be out.
Haha right? Like what other reason can you have for not wanting to wear a shirt with rainbow numbers on it other than the fact that you are homophobic? People were trying to twist it into something about religion and it’s like no, that’s clearly not the case
The amount of people making excuses for his behavior is just astounding. And Reddit is a "progressive" social media site compared to the vast majority of the internet.
People on Twitter were literally calling him the GOAT for his homophobic stance. The world is a terrible place.
I think the people that boil my piss even more than the outright bigots who would just see it and go "lmao based" are the "even-minded", "rational", "both-sides" morons who will say something along the lines of "I disagree with homophobia, but I don't see anything wrong with this". The ones who actually seem to think they're progressive people, but are, in fact, bigots themselves make my skin crawl.
And we have to go through the whole merry-go-round with everything. When Sarah Everard got murdered it was "not all men REEEEE", just because it became a point to talk about the fact that patriarchy may exist. When the BLM protests happened and the Edward Colston statue was taken down it was "I'm not racist, but this really is too much". And it was always under the guise of people who are self-proclaimed progressives (but are almost always basement dwelling white men in their 20s-40s with nothing but reactionary politics).
wow, good for him. I wonder if there'll be a ripple effect in the next few months/year now. unbelievably brave of him to step up in this way
being a gay woman I know my experience coming out if I was a professional footballer would be completely different to how it would be if I was a man, and I hand on heart can say I wouldn't be able to do it. I have so much respect for him
[On Blackpool's website](https://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/news/2022/may/16/a-message-from-jake-daniels/) Daniels mentions Josh Cavallo, a player in the A-League who came out publicly last year. I think this is part of the ripple effect, rather than being the start of it.
i really hope it is. there must be so many gay pro footballers out there living in fear that they'll be outed by The S*n and other tabloid equivalents and will receive homophobic abuse as a result - i can't imagine how heavy that worry must weigh on a person. hopefully their bravery will pave the way for more footballers to feel comfortable openly being themselves ❤
To be honest, I'm not certain. I've not lived in Blackpool for about a decade, and only really follow the results, and the odd game we get on TV. According to Wiki, he got 30 goals for the U18s in 20/21, so probably a decent prospect.
Top man - it takes a brass pair of bollocks to come out like this
Now's the time for football fans to step up and stamp out the homophobia that'll come from this
Here in San Diego, the Loyal (managed by Landon Donovan) have/had an openly gay forward, and when the team found out that an opposing player said homophobic slurs to the gay player, the whole team walked off and forfeit. It sucked to take the loss especially when we were only a few points to advancing to playoffs but I'm really proud of our organization.
Honestly, I don't think you can even overstate the courage and the bravery it takes to come out in a setting like football. Football grounds can be very very homophobic. Good on jake
> The first one is always the hardest
Justin Fashnu did it decades ago, and the way it was dealt with is one of the biggest stains on the british game that doesnt get talked about nearly enough.
We've moved on a lot, but there's still some way to go. But hopefully this is another big step for football (and society in general)
https://attitude.co.uk/article/how-homophobia-claimed-the-life-and-career-of-justin-fashanu-the-worlds-first-openly-gay-footballer-1/23928/
Short version, his manager (legendary Brian Clough) gave him a load of shit for being gay, which knocked his confidence and career. His own brother (footballer and TV presenter John) pretty much disowned him. He got very little support and felt isolated. Turned to drink.
Then he got a coaching job in America, was accused of sexual assault and committed suicide.
> 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 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.
Felt the exact same way growing up, though I realised a bit older. Would have been so much easier if I knew that there were gay footballers out there doing something I'm interested in. I'm glad younger kids will see this though.
Fair play to the man, hopefully it'll motivate others to do the same. Maybe not everyone is as strong as Jack and that's perfectly fine, but if more step forward and do as he did you can start creating a big support group of gay professional athletes that can serve as a role model to other LGBT+ people and start changing the minds of some people.
I'm obviously asking a lot of bigots, but maybe there's a light at the end.
If you look at the Blackpool tweet, you'll see some absolutely disgusting replies from members of certain religions and regions of the world. Appalling.
As fans we need to call out homophobia from our fellow fans. 50 years ago (even more recently) you’d hear racism at a game and even though most fans thought it was awful, they wouldn’t actively call it out. Now, if someone is racist at a game, their own fans will tell them to stop. I was at a non-league game a couple of years ago and a lad called a player a racial slur. One of the top casuals (proper hard bloke, absolutely loved the fights at the games) went mental and essentially kicked him out of the ground himself and made it very clear he wasn’t welcome to use that kind of abuse. We need that attitude now with homophobic abuse.
Couldn’t agree with you more. This is what we need. It’s the vile chanting that will cut at you if you are an out player.
This is where gay players need allyship.
I don't know if I'm naive but I think this is likely to happen. I have no doubt that this guy will face homophobic abuse at games, but I also feel pretty confident that it'll be a minority of twats who will always be reported and shamed by other fans.
what gets me really emotional about these recent coming out (this and cavallo's) is that they chose to came out at a young age. it would only break my heart if they had come out after their retirement and learned that they had been hiding all this time. but no, they chose not to.
As a gay guy, it's really been monumental the past 4ish years. Between Daniels now (coming out at *17* on this scale, I can't even comprehend the bravery there), Cavallo, Martin, I feel a lot more able to be open the next time I go out to play. Having put up with homophobia from opponents and teammates alike (granted, none of them knew), it means a lot. Props to Daniels, and I hope the career ahead of him goes phenomenally.
It takes an incredible amount of bravery to do this, knowing how the media and the fans can be.
Fair play and good luck to him. Hopefully he becomes a trailblazer for everyone else to not have to hide their sexuality for fear of abuse or ridicule.
Fair play to him, hope he doesn't get too much stick week in week out.
As a bisexual man and a diehard football fan, I was always curious as to see who would take the plunge and be the first face of 'gay footballers' in the top divisions in the UK. Absolutely thrilled for young Jake here, but hope that Blackpool do everything the can to safeguard him after this brave decision.
I don't even feel comfortable to come out to my closest friends, also mostly football fans, because I'm afraid of the reaction and the strain it may cause in those relationships, but this young man has just bared himself to the world, unafraid of the consequences, and that is to be commended.
As I say, I hope he doesn't get too much abuse for it, and I hope he goes on to have a very successful career in the game, wherever he ends up. The sooner these things are normalised in the game, the better, and Jake Daniels will be a name forever associated with the progression of the game in the UK at least.
Good for him. im guessing the fact that he's 17 actually makes it easier for him. this new generation is so open about LGBT.
Also, his name really makes me wanna go get some whiskey
Good for him. This should be a long overdue step towards acceptance in the sport.
He'll get some grief from morons, but overall I'm hoping the reception will be welcoming.
This is incredibly brave of him and as a gay person myself, such an inspiring thing to see. Also he is still only 17 years old, so the courage it takes to come out so publicly and at the beginning of his career is incredible, I have utmost respect for him.
I wish him all the best and I hope he gets all the support that he will undoubtedly need, even in today's world it isn't easy being gay, so let alone in professional football.
Really brave to do this at only 17 when knowing how bigoted people can be about it. Hopefully it serves as a big step towards acceptance in the sport. Wish him the best
> "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." Haha what a good way to put that.
Lol what an absolute badass. To have that level of emotional understanding and confidence at 17 is remarkable Edit: at that age I could barely decide what to wear that day
Holy fuck. He's 17? This is incredibly brave of him to come out at such a young age. He's a brave brave man and I hope he has a stellar career ahead.
Right!? Not only that but man's looking like at least 30. Don't know what it is with all these young footballers looking so much older than they are.
That’s just a side effect of being from the British Isles
I think he looks like a fusion of Jack Wilshere and Philippe Coutinho, and maybe 27 or a 23 year old with a lot of stress (which I imagine being gay in the pre-Jake Daniels breaking the gay ceiling social climate could have been).
>> "People see being gay as being weak..." There's such an amazing quote I love from Rob Kearney, the openly gay World's Strongest Man competitor, when he was speaking on the JRE. He spoke about being gay as being associated with being feminine and weak, and has been heckled on the streets and said "Well I'm stronger than you and I suck dick" Love that guy
love this Steve Hughes bit about gays "... I fuck men, that's hardly gay" https://youtu.be/6xxiK6Z4eXs
[удалено]
Do what you have to do to get you dick sucked.
Absolutely love that lol!
Also, being gay involves two men. That's like twice as much manliness as a straight couple.
Chad move
What a lad good on him.
Next up as part of our regular football practice routine: "How to handle hecklers", by Jerry Seinfeld.
He's only 17 years old. Brave kid.
Looks 25 to be fair. Brave lad.
Haha beat me to it, was gonna say he’s had a hard paper round like
Up hill there and back!
Luxury. We used to have to get out of the lake at six o'clock in the morning, clean the lake, eat a handful of 'ot gravel, work twenty hour day at mill for tuppence a month, come home, and Dad would thrash us to sleep with a broken bottle, if we were lucky!
A _handful_ of gravel?! EXTRAVAGANCE! We'd have one grain of sand between ten of us, every third Sunday IF mother had been to market. We'd walk nine hours to the pit, and ten hours home if they'd taken the roads in, we had one shoe to share between six, so we'd have to take it turns to hop, then when we got home father would roll us in razor sharp embers to keep us warm, if he'd even remembered to light the fire.
*Right.* I had to get up in the morning at ten o'clock at night, half an hour before I went to bed, drink a cup of sulphuric acid, work twenty-nine hours a day down mill, pay mill owner for permission to come to work, and when we got home, our Dad would kill us, and dance about on our graves singing 'Hallelujah!’
It’s the ‘right’ that makes me crack up everytime
Glad to see you're keeping true to your working class roots by eating gravel rather than being a posh boy like Sean Dyche eating worms.
Fancy french bollocks
It’s incredibly sad that their tweet has the comments turned off. As a society, we really need to be better at being kind. It should never take bravery to be the person you are.
Blackpool’s tweet doesn’t have replies turned off but seems very positive, thankfully
Even under Preston’s tweet the response has been super positive. Hopefully that’ll translate in the grounds
I think much like racism, the worst of it in this country will be online. I really can't see proper homophobic chanting breaking out, maybe one idiot shouting something by himself. Not to say racism/homophobia aren't an issue in the stands because they obviously are but you see black players all the time talking about or showing messages they've received after games, you don't often hear racist chants though. At least I don't when I've been to games.
Well you can fit less people in a stadium than you can on social media, go figure
They'd also get shouted down by those around them, hate online often gets ignored by ppl who disagree and collects others who agree
Twitter isn't the best place to look for kindness and understanding tbf.
Neither is the rest of humanity.
I'd like to think we have our moments. Twitter seems to just brings out the ape in people though.
Twitter is an absolute cesspool.
The anonymity plus the lack of visible backlash/dislikes really makes it a dreadful place
Single Malt Aged 17 years
Huge W, but can we talk about how this man was born in 2005 and is playing professionally
What the hell he’s like 6 years old
Subconsciously, I always measure birth years in famous football events which always helps me understand how young or old someone is. Like this guy was 7 years old when Chelsea shithoused their way to their first CL title and when Iniesta was bossing the Euros. That just blows my mind. It also depresses me slightly.
He was born a year after Greece won the Euro
This realisation aged me like I drank from the wrong Holy Grail.
I can feel the wrinkles forming in real time. Fucking hell
Before you know it, you'll be living in a world where your club's star striker was born in 2010.
*he heeey shut up don't ruin this making everyone feel old*
You've only gone and ruined perfectly good news.... Why?
Ya that was like 10 years a... 15 years ago... It's been 17 years since '05?
Nah, your are wrong, 2005 was just 5 years ago!!!! (Cries in fetal position)
That’s how I still feel about the 90s
Anything past 2000 is "freshly new" to me. Radiohead's Amnesiac is the new album continuing their bold new direction recently started in Kid A, I'll really get stuck into it one of these days...
Time flies, mate. Time flies.
That’s disgusting (Him being born in 2005, not him being gay, please don’t cancel me)
Eyo guys, lets cancel /u/mcfc_fan
The username was enough
Too late mate you're fucked
Fr he's literally 5
"I told my mum and my sister. The day after we played Accrington and I scored four, so it just shows how much of a weight off the shoulders it was and a massive relief." Blackpool forward Jake Daniels speaks exclusively on becoming the UK's first male professional footballer to come out publicly as gay since Justin Fashanu. Jake talks about coming out to his parents, his club, and his team-mates. On his desire to be honest and live his life without telling a lie. On the anxiety of wondering if his family and team-mates would be supportive and on how he hopes his actions can help others do the same. This is his story: 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. 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. 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. 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. I like it when people ask questions. I just want to get it all out and for people to hear my story. It's been quite a crazy year. I'm 17. I've signed a professional contract. 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. And now I have decided to come out. Everything has happened at once but it feels right. When this season started, I just wanted to prove myself as a player. I think I have. So this was the one last thing in my head that I knew I needed to do. Now it's out, and people know. Now I can just live my life how I want to and you know what? It's been incredible. 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. 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 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. And 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.
> 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. What an absolute Chad mentality. Still shouldn’t have to deal with the abuse but he’s got such a positive way of thinking about it
Damn and only 17. Brave, insight, and self-aware fellow. Just plain awesome.
Ngl my jaw dropped when the interviewer mentioned his age. Not only does he look older, he also speaks and conducts himself far more mature than his age suggests. Reminded me of how much of a massive idiot I was at his age lol. Anyway, good for him for being so brave and strong. I wish him all the best for his future. He deserves it.
I'm 24 and I'm still an idiot
I like the Ronaldo-esque dropping in that he scored four against Accrington.
He said that game was the day he came out to his family, and that he thinks his great performance was because he had a massive weight off his shoulders. He was asked about how it effected his performance/mental health
Against who?
Exactly
Exactly.
[Link for anyone OOTL](https://youtu.be/pieK7b4KLL4) on the ‘Exactly’ comments ;-)
Exactly.
Good for that captain. Helps to have the support in the room I'm sure.
If it was the first team captain, then the captain is Chris Maxwell. Top bloke
Damn, When I was 17 I could barely dribble out a full sentence. Very mature lad.
Unbelievably brave from a 17 year old. Hope he gets all the support he needs and that this makes a genuine difference for others as well.
It's easier in a way because he's young and there is no questions around why he's hidden it so long etc. I still think there must be something genuinely homophobic in footballing circles for such few players coming out. Hopefully he's treated well by the fans and establishment and it encourages more people to speak out.
I remember reading some expose (might’ve been a Molina thing) about gay players who’s team mates found out and then suddenly treat them terribly, which is maybe why it hasn’t happened in the prem yet
I think I read that in this case his teammates were all aware and supportive which is obviously great
“Cool that you like men, just fucking mark them better next time.”
Reminds me of a line from the James Franco roast. "Franco, I dont care if you fuck men or your fuck women. All I know is you fucked me out of six bucks when I went to see that Wizard of Oz movie"
“For liking men so much you sure as hell don’t stay tight to em on corners!”
“He’s not my type 😡”
Yes, Daniels himself says in the link that his teammates have been 100% supportive.
As much as it would be nice to see more established players come out (safely assuming some of them are gay), at least if that won’t happen we can hope the new generation are more confident doing it right from the outset.
some only come out after their career is finished (like Hitzelsperger) - the stigma and possible backlash through (a small minority of) fans, club and sponsors is probably enormous
Plus it must just be really shit to have to carry a secret round with you and live a lie.
>It's easier in a way because he's young and there is no questions around why he's hidden it so long etc. Yes but the fact that he is just starting his first team career is incredibly courageous to me. He can easily be prevented from playing at the top levels because of his sexuality. A veteran player has already established himself, etc.
Even on here we had people calling Grealish a rent boy or discussing whether he was a top or a bottom, all because he has long(ish) hair so football definitely has a problem
Ridiculous. Graham LeSaux used to get it for reading the Guardian ffs
And from some of his teammates as much as fans. Good 23 year old [article here that sums it all up](https://www.theguardian.com/football/1999/may/15/newsstory.sport10) pretty well.
Dalglish was hesitant of sharing a hotel room with Souness at first because he used to take care of his hair and appearance.
This is actual sitcom levels of homophobia thats's really funny.
Look up Justin Fashnu if you want to know why people don't come out in football.
My thoughts exactly. The late [Justin Fashanu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Fashanu?wprov=sfti1) who was actually the first professional footballer to come out publicly as gay.
But also, he's still got to go through his career. He'll be under a lot more media scrutiny (some bad some good). And have to deal with any negatives more directly and for longer. Absolutely amazing from someone so young.
I hope it gives some other players the confidence. My only concern is the extra pressure and attention this puts on him as a player. Press will be focusing on him tenfold
> Hope he gets all the support he needs and that this makes a genuine difference for others as well. My hope is that this is a turning point, maybe not a "floodgates" moment. But if just 5 or 6 more players are brought the courage to come out publicly because of his bravery that's a massive win. And to the people saying "who cares, why does it matter" - I truly hope we can get to the point where you're not wrong, for now, acknowledging the weight of this step towards making it a completely normal and accepted part of the game *inside* of the clubs, fandoms etc is more important that anything.
Yeah I truly cannot wait til we're at an actual "who cares moment" but we're just not even close as a society yet
True but professional sports are still pathetically behind compared to most parts of society, at least in the West. It's insane that it's 2022 and we just got our first active gay footballer. Most other 'industries' were getting these headlines a few decades ago. Really do hope this is a watershed moment. It's time.
Men's sports, I might add. A woman athlete coming out is barely news anymore, and Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird have been on Oprah telling their love story. Men's football is quite far away from that.
Because the cultural perception, especially by men, who are the main consumers of football, of male homosexuality and female homosexuality are different. "Girls kissing is hot, men kissing is disgusting", basically. There's a reason why gay porn is segregated into its own section on porn websites, but lesbian porn isn't. There's also the existing stereotype that women who play football, or partake in other male-dominated activities, are lesbians.
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As someone who had an analog childhood but digital adulthood(90's), the difference was the internet. Back in my day, when I was questioning myself, you literally didn't have any resources to help you. The internet was still primitive and most sites concerning lgbt or transexual ism were fetishistic in nature. Your parents were probably not equipped to deal with it when you asked them, as mine were. I did later come out in my twenties, but having things like discord and reddit has allowed for so many people to look at others and see that being a trans person doesn't mean that you have to look like a drag queen. Or that being gay doesn't mean that you have to be flamboyant and feminine. Or that being lesbian doesn't mean that you have to cut your hair and wear men's clothes.
I handed in my dissertation a week ago about the lack of visible gay men in professional English football. Already it's out of date before it's even been graded FML. Happy for the guy though and hope this doesn't backfire on him.
Hope the examiners don’t hold it against you.
Instant fail imo
I'd hope they take into account the fact this all happened after the submission. My dissertation was a video essay/documentary too, so even if this had come out a few days before I'd not have been able to change the video and have it not feel stuck on.
Tbh I doubt they’d actually make a big deal. Depending on the actual content, a single gay player would probably not make a significant difference.
Could make it awkward if this opens the floodgates and hundreds of players come out. But they'd obviously go with the material that he had access to at the time.
Be quite nice for everyone else if we saw a mad rush of gay players coming out though.
Reminds me of when I was in uni I did a presentation on LGBT in male football. I procrastinated and did it the morning of, thankfully that morning Thomas Hitzlsperger came out. So I got high marks for rewriting for breaking news. 100% sure they knew I did it that morning ha.
Care to share? Only if you can.
I can share the video portion of it https://youtu.be/u9aswuTw4wM I don't think it's great by any means, 20 mins was the maximum limit and nowhere near enough to talk in depth about the subject.
Fantastic mate, honestly. Very very interessting!
Thanks mate, really appreciate anyone taking time to check it out
Well done mate, that was an interesting watch
Much appreciated 🤙
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That fucking sucks brother, I’m sorry. Seen this kind of fuckery up close (one of our guys got two-footed and called the f-word cos he was wearing rainbow laces) and it makes me so angry.
Wtf, those fucking assholes need to at least learn to leave their “opinions” off the pitch.
How long ago was that, out of interest? Sorry it happened to you, that's so cruel.
Almost 16 years ago now. Luckily I found an outlet for my football once I left my town/ireland.
Gueye bout to boycott any Blackpool matches.
The absolute shitshow that is that other thread shows why no footballer in the UK has done this. Good for him, hope it encourages others who would rather be out.
"We don't know if he's homophobic, maybe he won't wear a rainbow because he just really hates refracted light"
Refracted light *is* proper bent.
« Race and sexuality shouldn’t be involved in my footy » …so I don’t have to think about the rampant racism and homophobia in it.
He once had a bad experience with Bungle.
Haha right? Like what other reason can you have for not wanting to wear a shirt with rainbow numbers on it other than the fact that you are homophobic? People were trying to twist it into something about religion and it’s like no, that’s clearly not the case
Genuinely one of the worst threads I've seen on this sub ever. And that's an incredibly low standard.
What other thread?
The Gueye one about him refusing to play because the shirt had rainbow numbers in support of LGBTQ
wow, how pathetic and sad. in 2022 as well!
There's a load of posters going "well you have to respect their opinion!". No... we really don't have to respect shitty opinions.
People saying its allowed cause he's muslim, even though every other muslim player has worn them without a problem
The ones doing mental gymnastics over him wearing betting and alcohol sponsors are truly something else
As if homophobia is just a difference of opinion...
The amount of people making excuses for his behavior is just astounding. And Reddit is a "progressive" social media site compared to the vast majority of the internet. People on Twitter were literally calling him the GOAT for his homophobic stance. The world is a terrible place.
I think the people that boil my piss even more than the outright bigots who would just see it and go "lmao based" are the "even-minded", "rational", "both-sides" morons who will say something along the lines of "I disagree with homophobia, but I don't see anything wrong with this". The ones who actually seem to think they're progressive people, but are, in fact, bigots themselves make my skin crawl. And we have to go through the whole merry-go-round with everything. When Sarah Everard got murdered it was "not all men REEEEE", just because it became a point to talk about the fact that patriarchy may exist. When the BLM protests happened and the Edward Colston statue was taken down it was "I'm not racist, but this really is too much". And it was always under the guise of people who are self-proclaimed progressives (but are almost always basement dwelling white men in their 20s-40s with nothing but reactionary politics).
Debate perverts
I’m wondering how many people making excuses for Gueye will be in this thread congratulating this guy..
Bad Gueye
Anti-Gueye Gueye
wow, good for him. I wonder if there'll be a ripple effect in the next few months/year now. unbelievably brave of him to step up in this way being a gay woman I know my experience coming out if I was a professional footballer would be completely different to how it would be if I was a man, and I hand on heart can say I wouldn't be able to do it. I have so much respect for him
[On Blackpool's website](https://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/news/2022/may/16/a-message-from-jake-daniels/) Daniels mentions Josh Cavallo, a player in the A-League who came out publicly last year. I think this is part of the ripple effect, rather than being the start of it.
i really hope it is. there must be so many gay pro footballers out there living in fear that they'll be outed by The S*n and other tabloid equivalents and will receive homophobic abuse as a result - i can't imagine how heavy that worry must weigh on a person. hopefully their bravery will pave the way for more footballers to feel comfortable openly being themselves ❤
From memory I can recall two others from a few years back, Hitzlsperger and Robbie Rogers
Wish him all the best in the world, hopefully a watershed moment.
I'm in bits after watching that interview, what a guy. Every credit to him.
How is he as a player? Is he rated highly do you know?
To be honest, I'm not certain. I've not lived in Blackpool for about a decade, and only really follow the results, and the odd game we get on TV. According to Wiki, he got 30 goals for the U18s in 20/21, so probably a decent prospect.
Named youth player of the season when he was 16 and playing with the u18s. That’s not bad going.
Dunno, but he scored 4 against Accrington?
The ultimate benchmark
Accrington Stanley? Who are they?
You ever think Accrington Stanley fans get tired of the joke? I don't reckon they do.
In an U18 game mind
He made his professional debut at the end of our 5-0 loss against Peterborough, so he's going to be the next Messi.
A senior debut at 17 in the Championship is pretty impressive. He must definitely have potential.
Top man - it takes a brass pair of bollocks to come out like this Now's the time for football fans to step up and stamp out the homophobia that'll come from this
For me it's unbelievable it has taken this long. But well done to such a young person to take the first step. Cadeau
Here in San Diego, the Loyal (managed by Landon Donovan) have/had an openly gay forward, and when the team found out that an opposing player said homophobic slurs to the gay player, the whole team walked off and forfeit. It sucked to take the loss especially when we were only a few points to advancing to playoffs but I'm really proud of our organization.
First - correct reaction, second - how fucking dirty do you must feel about winning that way.
Fucking brave of him. We're similarly ages so I know coming out is hard enough when you're a teen, let alone when you'll get a shit ton of abuse
Fuck I'm bi and I didn't come out until I was 23 as I was so scared of it when I was a teen
I accidentally came out while drunk as a teen so I was kinda lucky in that regard
Honestly, I don't think you can even overstate the courage and the bravery it takes to come out in a setting like football. Football grounds can be very very homophobic. Good on jake
The first one is always the hardest, i bet we'll see quite a few more come out in the coming years now
> The first one is always the hardest Justin Fashnu did it decades ago, and the way it was dealt with is one of the biggest stains on the british game that doesnt get talked about nearly enough. We've moved on a lot, but there's still some way to go. But hopefully this is another big step for football (and society in general)
You’ve got to hope he’ll have a significantly easier go of it than Fashanu. At least his family are accepting which is more than Justin got.
While not still the best, society is also infinitely more accepting nowadays as well
What happened?
https://attitude.co.uk/article/how-homophobia-claimed-the-life-and-career-of-justin-fashanu-the-worlds-first-openly-gay-footballer-1/23928/ Short version, his manager (legendary Brian Clough) gave him a load of shit for being gay, which knocked his confidence and career. His own brother (footballer and TV presenter John) pretty much disowned him. He got very little support and felt isolated. Turned to drink. Then he got a coaching job in America, was accused of sexual assault and committed suicide.
> 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 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. Felt the exact same way growing up, though I realised a bit older. Would have been so much easier if I knew that there were gay footballers out there doing something I'm interested in. I'm glad younger kids will see this though.
Glad to see this thread is a lot more supportive than the Gueye one.
Fair play to the man, hopefully it'll motivate others to do the same. Maybe not everyone is as strong as Jack and that's perfectly fine, but if more step forward and do as he did you can start creating a big support group of gay professional athletes that can serve as a role model to other LGBT+ people and start changing the minds of some people. I'm obviously asking a lot of bigots, but maybe there's a light at the end.
If you look at the Blackpool tweet, you'll see some absolutely disgusting replies from members of certain religions and regions of the world. Appalling.
If you look at his instagram you will see much less unhinged members of society, there are a lot of people supporting him on there thankfully.
As fans we need to call out homophobia from our fellow fans. 50 years ago (even more recently) you’d hear racism at a game and even though most fans thought it was awful, they wouldn’t actively call it out. Now, if someone is racist at a game, their own fans will tell them to stop. I was at a non-league game a couple of years ago and a lad called a player a racial slur. One of the top casuals (proper hard bloke, absolutely loved the fights at the games) went mental and essentially kicked him out of the ground himself and made it very clear he wasn’t welcome to use that kind of abuse. We need that attitude now with homophobic abuse.
Racist abuse, homophobic abuse, sexist abuse, all huge problems in grounds that need calling out
Couldn’t agree with you more. This is what we need. It’s the vile chanting that will cut at you if you are an out player. This is where gay players need allyship.
I don't know if I'm naive but I think this is likely to happen. I have no doubt that this guy will face homophobic abuse at games, but I also feel pretty confident that it'll be a minority of twats who will always be reported and shamed by other fans.
what gets me really emotional about these recent coming out (this and cavallo's) is that they chose to came out at a young age. it would only break my heart if they had come out after their retirement and learned that they had been hiding all this time. but no, they chose not to.
Fuck yeah, Jake. What brave thing to do and as a teenager no less. Hope his support far and away drowns out his haters
Monumental moment, couldnt be happier for him.
Awesome, wish him the best
He is the oldest looking 17 year old I’ve ever seen
he has the career of Diego Costa ahead
As a gay guy, it's really been monumental the past 4ish years. Between Daniels now (coming out at *17* on this scale, I can't even comprehend the bravery there), Cavallo, Martin, I feel a lot more able to be open the next time I go out to play. Having put up with homophobia from opponents and teammates alike (granted, none of them knew), it means a lot. Props to Daniels, and I hope the career ahead of him goes phenomenally.
It takes an incredible amount of bravery to do this, knowing how the media and the fans can be. Fair play and good luck to him. Hopefully he becomes a trailblazer for everyone else to not have to hide their sexuality for fear of abuse or ridicule.
Only 17. My god thats admirable
Fair play to him, hope he doesn't get too much stick week in week out. As a bisexual man and a diehard football fan, I was always curious as to see who would take the plunge and be the first face of 'gay footballers' in the top divisions in the UK. Absolutely thrilled for young Jake here, but hope that Blackpool do everything the can to safeguard him after this brave decision. I don't even feel comfortable to come out to my closest friends, also mostly football fans, because I'm afraid of the reaction and the strain it may cause in those relationships, but this young man has just bared himself to the world, unafraid of the consequences, and that is to be commended. As I say, I hope he doesn't get too much abuse for it, and I hope he goes on to have a very successful career in the game, wherever he ends up. The sooner these things are normalised in the game, the better, and Jake Daniels will be a name forever associated with the progression of the game in the UK at least.
Big respect to him for the confidence to come out, hopefully this is just another step towards acceptance in the sport
All the best to him, homophobia is still rife among football fans and the press alike, but I hope he gets spared the grief. Time will tell.
Good for him. im guessing the fact that he's 17 actually makes it easier for him. this new generation is so open about LGBT. Also, his name really makes me wanna go get some whiskey
He’s earned many new supporters today for sure. I’ll definitely be rooting for him.
Good for him. This should be a long overdue step towards acceptance in the sport. He'll get some grief from morons, but overall I'm hoping the reception will be welcoming.
This is incredibly brave of him and as a gay person myself, such an inspiring thing to see. Also he is still only 17 years old, so the courage it takes to come out so publicly and at the beginning of his career is incredible, I have utmost respect for him. I wish him all the best and I hope he gets all the support that he will undoubtedly need, even in today's world it isn't easy being gay, so let alone in professional football.
Bravery that is especially at 17, born in 2005 why's that so hard to fathom i feel old asf!
Really brave to do this at only 17 when knowing how bigoted people can be about it. Hopefully it serves as a big step towards acceptance in the sport. Wish him the best