English soccer player Jake Daniels said he is gay on Monday in a trailblazing moment for the European men's game.
The 17-year-old forward made the announcement at the end of his first season as a professional player with second division club Blackpool.. "But off the pitch I've been hiding the real me and who I really am. I've known my whole life that I'm gay, and I now feel that I'm ready to come out and be myself.
At the weekend, Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Idrissa Gueye was left out of the matchday squad for a game at Montpellier amid reports he refused to wear a team jersey with a rainbow-colored number. "I've hated lying my whole life and feeling the need to change to fit in," Daniels said. "I want to be a role model myself by doing this. There are people out there in the same space as me that may not feel comfortable revealing their sexuality.
The only openly gay man to have played in English soccer's professional leagues was Justin Fashanu, who was not active at a high level when he made the announcement in 1990. The former Nottingham Forest and Norwich City striker was found hanged in a London garage at age 37. The Justin Fashanu Foundation calls him the "world's first openly gay professional footballer.
The first openly gay player in the NBA was Jason Collins while playing for the Brooklyn Nets in 2021.
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