‘INCREDIBLY PROUD’

‘Ready to Tell People My Story’: Blackpool Soccer Star Jake Daniels Comes Out as Gay

He’s the only openly gay male professional soccer player in the U.K.

Blackpool forward Jake Daniels has become the United Kingdom’s first openly gay soccer player in nearly three decades. Daniels, 17, told Sky Sports that he kept his sexual identity a secret throughout his life because he feared it could interfere with his chance at becoming a professional player. “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,” he said. “I was probably 5 or 6 years old when I knew I was gay. So it’s been a long time that I have been living with the lie.” Daniels added that the day after he first told his mom and sister, he scored four goals in a match against Accrington, proving “how much of a weight off the shoulders and what a massive relief it was.” His team, Blackpool, has likewise shown incredible support, the young athlete said. “My team-mates have all been so supportive about it and everyone has had my back...It’s the best thing I could have asked for.” In a statement, Blackpool FC said it has supported Daniels and is “incredibly proud that he has reached a stage where he is empowered to express himself both on-and-off the pitch.” Justin Fashanu, a pro footballer from the seventies through the nineties, came out in 1990, becoming the U.K.’s first openly gay male footballer.