Football world reacts as Blackpool's Jake Daniels out as gay

Contents:

• JAKE DANIELS BE FIRST UK MALE FOOTBALLER TO E OUT AS GAY SCE 1990
• JAKE DANIELS BE FIRST UK MALE FOOTBALLER TO E OUT AS GAY SCE 1990
• JAKE DANIELS: WHY BLACKPOOL PLAYER’S CISN TO E OUT AS GAY MATTERS
• 17-YEAR-OLD IS FIRST ACTIVE UK PROFSNAL FOOTBALLER TO E OUT AS GAY S
• JAKE DANIELS: UK’S ONLY ACTIVE GAY MALE PROFSNAL FOOTBALLER
• JAKE DANIELS BE UK'S FIRST ACTIVE MALE PROFSNAL FOOTBALLER TO E OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY - REACTN
• JAKE DANIELS AGA PROV WISPREAD SUPPORT FOR GAY ATHLET
• JAKE DANIELS: BLACKPOOL FOOTBALLER, 17, OUT, BEG ONLY OPENLY GAY MALE PROFSNAL FOOTBALLER BRA
• JAKE DANIELS: BLACKPOOL FORWARD BE UK'S FIRST ACTIVE MALE PROFSNAL FOOTBALLER TO E OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY
• FOOTBALL WORLD REACTS AS BLACKPOOL'S JAKE DANIELS OUT AS GAY

JAKE DANIELS BE FIRST UK MALE FOOTBALLER TO E OUT AS GAY SCE 1990

The Blackpool forward Jake Daniels has end s of silence wh men’s football to bee the first player the UK to e out as gay sce Jt Fashanu 1990. Photograph: Pl Dennis/TGS Photo/ShutterstockDaniels’s revelatn is a strikg landmark that when men’s football is more engaged wh social issu than any recent time, but still unable to ce progrs LGBTQ reprentatn wh the year Alai Uned’s Josh Cavallo beme the only male top-flight profsnal footballer the world to e out as gay, but others are yet to follow. In six months the men’s World Cup will be played Qatar, where homosexualy is illegal, and Cavallo revealed to the Guardian he would be “sred” to play at the tournament, the pnacle of world English football specifilly, the shadow of the talented and unfulfilled Fashanu still lgers over the game.

The England ternatnal me out at the end of his reer and was to take his own life eight years later, Fashanu, Jt’s niece, who ns a charable foundatn his name, said that Daniels’s cisn would “e as a huge fort to the many footballers at all levels of the game still secretly livg as gay and who still feel unable to e out”. When 17-year-old Jake Daniels publicly me out as a gay on Monday, phon pged as the UK’s media raced to ph out news alerts. “I’ve known my whole life that I’m gay, and I now feel that I’m ready to e out and be myself, ” the English footballer said his statement.

JAKE DANIELS BE FIRST UK MALE FOOTBALLER TO E OUT AS GAY SCE 1990

Until Monday, Alai Uned’s Josh Cavallo was the only current openly gay top-flight male profsnal footballer the world. Daniels is the first profsnal male player to e out as gay the UK the last 30 years, says the Brish LGBTQ advocy group Stonewall. Jt Fashanu was the first and, until now, only active male profsnal footballer the UK to speak publicly about beg a gay man.

It was only last month that a football fan was banned om watchg live football by a Brish urt for three years for shoutg homophobic abe at a Premier League match between Brighton and Hove Albn and Arsenal October 2021. Men’s profsnal football is still behd the women’s game – there were 40 openly gay, lbian and bisexual players at the 2019 Women’s World Cup – and other sports. Daniels, who said he had known he was gay sce the age of five or six, received support om his club and Stonewall before makg his statement and he will need that to ntue bee beg a trailblazer n be a heavy load to rry.

Jake Daniels, a 17-year-old forward for Blackpool FC England’s send tier, publicly me out as gay Monday a statement released by the club. “I’ve known my whole life that I’m gay, and I now feel that I’m ready to e out and be myself. “To e out publicly as the first openly gay player men’s profsnal football the UK the last 30 years tak urage.

JAKE DANIELS: WHY BLACKPOOL PLAYER’S CISN TO E OUT AS GAY MATTERS

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Readg the Game newsletter sent straight to your box for eeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s ee weekly newsletter Blackpool forward Jake Daniels has bee the first openly gay male profsnal footballer the 17-year-old ma the announcement public on Monday a trailblazg moment for the English game.

” The only openly gay man currently playg a top divisn world football is Josh Cavallo of Atralian team Alai Uned. "To e out publicly as the UK’s first openly gay profsnal footballer nearly 30 years tak credible urage, and we’re heartened by the solidary and support he has received om Blackpool FC and his teammat.

17-YEAR-OLD IS FIRST ACTIVE UK PROFSNAL FOOTBALLER TO E OUT AS GAY S

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says he was proud of Jake Daniels for beg the first active profsnal player to e out publicly as gay sce 1990, while Jack Grealish believ is a "massive step forward" Monday, 17-year-old Daniels told Sky Sports he felt now was the right time to tell his story at the end of a season where he sred more than 30 goals and ma his profsnal but the now hop to bee a role mol for other players to feel fortable enough to e out, if they want to, wh people across the football world and beyond showg their support for the teenager.

Manchter Cy's Jack Grealish prais Daniels' cisn to e out publicly as gay and says reprents a massive step forward for football. 'Football has a place for everyone'Daniels ced Alai Uned's Josh Cavallo, the only current top-flight male profsnal footballer to e out as gay, as an spiratn behd his cisn to speak out, a pot the Atralian said was a "wonrful feelg" after learng of the said: "As myself and Alai Uned prepare for the A-League Semi Fal, I want to stop and take a moment to acknowledge Jake's announcement and say how very proud I am for his bravery!

Daniels was spired by Matt Morton, a player-manager for nth-tier Thetford Town, before cidg to e out publicly after seeg his own story of beg an openly gay man Morton, who offered support to Daniels the months leadg up to his g out, says is the teenager who should be praised for the bravery he has shown this week. "He's a 17-year-old kid who's had the urage to e out on natnal televisn, havg jt signed a profsnal ntract, and announce to the world that he's gay. Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher have praised Jake Daniels after the 17-year-old me out as gay, scribg his announcement as an important day the history of English football.

JAKE DANIELS: UK’S ONLY ACTIVE GAY MALE PROFSNAL FOOTBALLER

We have been drsg rooms for many, many years and that would seem like the unthkable to announce that you are gay. "I was on the PFA management mtee probably 15 to 20 years ago now whereby this was a major talkg pot, a major issue at management mtee meetgs that we did not have a player fortable enough to e out and say they were gay.

England Rugby head ach Eddie Jon praised Daniels and said he hoped uld provi an spiratn for gby unn, where there have been siarly few openly gay players. That has taken more than three s sce the last male profsnal footballer this untry felt fortable enough to do so suggts a ntug culture of homophobia football that is horrendoly out of step wh morn tim. "The Commtee prevly lled for chang to the Football Offenc Act to make homophobic abe a crimal offence.

There have certaly been more than five gay men the sport between their rpective untri of the Uned Stat, Atralia and England.

JAKE DANIELS BE UK'S FIRST ACTIVE MALE PROFSNAL FOOTBALLER TO E OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY - REACTN

Yet bee of how we’ve talked about homophobia sports — and particular men’s profsnal sports — others have believed they would be rejected by their sport if they me out. In realy, the reactn om people across the media and social media to Daniel’s announcement this week has reflected the wispread support that gay athlet g out actually face today, both men’s and women’s sports. Yet we still talk about gay athlet the same way we did the 1990s.

He got om the shadowy tabloid stori of fear, om athlet sayg they thk gay athlet would be rejected, om dopey chants by dnk fans. Our society has advanced the ia that gay athlet g out football, soccer, or whatever you ll the sport, risk losg their reer or endorsements.

JAKE DANIELS AGA PROV WISPREAD SUPPORT FOR GAY ATHLET

Instead, ’s more likely that the gay men g out pro sports will make more money, and will be more veted by rporatns lookg to embrace valu of urage and diversy.

Is possible that an opposg fan will ll Daniels a gay slur? Frankly, they probably already do as they e those slurs to attack gay and straight athlet. The people sports — the on who matter the most — wily embrace gay teammat, iends and fay members when they e out.

Yet we keep tellg the gay athlet to be aaid, to stay silent, to not take a “risk” or be a “distractn. Bee we’ve seen the stori of people who have actually e out, we’ve talked to straight athlet who’ve had a gay teammate e out, and ’s beg harr and harr to fd gay athlet g out who had an overall negative experience. Sports are found on teamwork and cln, and that clus gay athlet, even at the hight levels of English football.

JAKE DANIELS: BLACKPOOL FOOTBALLER, 17, OUT, BEG ONLY OPENLY GAY MALE PROFSNAL FOOTBALLER BRA

Blackpool forward Jake Daniels’ announcement that he is homosexual mak him the UK’s only active, openly gay, male profsnal footballer. The support for Daniels has been a stark ntrast to the homophobic rpons to Fashanu, who killed himself 1998 at the age of 37. Sport the UK has long been rife wh homophobia and nsired an unsafe place for LGBT+ players.

In 2017, a Hoe of Commons report nclud that “spe the signifint change society’s attus to homosexualy the last 30 years, there is ltle reflectn of this progrs beg seen football. This laggg behd is no surprise given the vile homophobic chantg at some of England’s bt players such as Sol Campbell, and the reactn to Fashanu the 1990s.

Ined, there are some early signs of homophobic hate rponse to Daniels that have been nmned by LGBTQ+ rights group Stonewall. The Jt Campaign, tablished 2008 by a Brighton-based grassroots anisatn, was one of the first official mpaigns to raise awarens of homophobia men’s football.

JAKE DANIELS: BLACKPOOL FORWARD BE UK'S FIRST ACTIVE MALE PROFSNAL FOOTBALLER TO E OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY

The mpaign had a lol reach and targeted young people, maly school and universy stunts who entered tournaments as team “Tackle Homophobia”. From the Jt Campaign me Football v Homophobia, veloped by PriSports, which now has a signifint prence the game worldwi.

The FA, football’s erng body England and Wal, troduced s first anti-homophobia iative 2012, Openg Doors and Jog In. Sce then, the FA has endorsed both Football v Homophobia and the Rabow Lac mpaigns.

FOOTBALL WORLD REACTS AS BLACKPOOL'S JAKE DANIELS OUT AS GAY

While I don’t know how aware Daniels and his peers were of the mpaigns as they were growg up, there is evince om a 2017 study at a boy’s football amy that revealed “progrsive attus towards homosexualy” among a small group of 14-15 year olds.

This suggts that attus are beg more clive – although the boys the study felt unable to dividually challenge homophobia when they observed . Homophobic chantg at men’s profsnal gam n be a mon occurrence.

This chantg, often emed as “banter” by the perpetrators, n be outright blatant homophobia, or what we now ll a “micro-aggrsn”. Obvly, not all football fans make homophobic remarks and gtur at a game or on social media.