Blackpool’s Jake Daniels said his decision to come out as the UK’s only openly gay active male professional footballer was “a massive relief”.
Daniels, a midfielder with the Championship club, is the first professional footballer in the UK men’s game for more than 30 years to come out while still playing.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the 17-year-old said: “Now is the right time to do it.
“I feel like I am ready to tell people my story.”
He added: “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 health. Now I am just confident and happy to be myself finally.
“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.”
Adelaide United player Josh Cavallo is the only current openly gay top-flight male professional footballer in the world, having come out last October.
‘I’ve been hiding who I am’
Daniels says his announcement comes at the end of what he says has been a “fantastic” season for Blackpool, during which he made his first-team debut and signed a first professional contract.
“But off the pitch I’ve been hiding the real me and who I really am,” he told Blackpool’s website. “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.”
Daniels said he has confided in youth-team players, who have supported and embraced his decision.
“I’ve hated lying my whole life and feeling the need to change to fit in,” he added. “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. I just want to tell them that you don’t have to change who you are, or how you should be, just to fit in.”
More to follow.
