‘People think being gay makes you weak’ – UK’s only out professional male footballer opens up

Blackpool FC striker Jake Daniels, England’s only openly gay male professional footballer, has spoken out about people’s preconceptions about LGBTQ+ sports stars.

Daniels, 19, came out in interview with Sky Sports in 2022 and remains one of the few high-profile LGBTQ+ football stars in the world. Now, speaking to former international swimmer Michael Gunning in Sky Sports documentary, Beneath the Surface, he has addressed assumptions people have about gay athletes.

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The documentary, which aired on Monday (28 October), aims to tackle the “myths and stereotypes” in sport.

In the 20-minute programme, Daniels said that two years after coming out, he still feels his impact “hasn’t properly sunk in”, but he’s left with “an inspirational feeling” knowing that his coming out encouraged young people to feel able to do the same to family members.

‘It took me quite a while to accept myself’

Daniels admitted that coming out was a significant personal challenge. “It took me quite a while to accept myself for being gay, but when I got over that, it was an amazing feeling. I had all the love around me,” he said.

He has yet to play on a “big pitch” since coming out, and has some concerns about facing homophobic taunts. “Growing up, I didn’t have any gay friends,” which made his coming out feel like “the complete unknown”, he added.

‘Football is seen as a masculine sport where you have to be strong’

However, he found that “everyone has been so loving,” and his friends have shown supportive interest, asking “positive” questions about his sexuality.

Daniels, who is determined to be an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community within and beyond football, addressed the influence of toxic masculinity in the sport, saying: “When people ask why it’s different in men’s sport to come out, I put it down to football being seen as a masculine sport where you’ve got to be strong, but people think being gay means you’re weak.”

Blackpool forward Daniels, who is currently on loan to Northern Premier League side Warrington Rylands 1906, was the first professional footballer in England’s top four men’s divisions to come out publicly since Justin Fashanu in 1990 and says he felt “100 per cent” supported by his teammates.

Beneath the Surface can be watched on YouTube here.

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