Jake Daniels warns "something needs to change" as hope shared for more gay stars
Jake Daniels has warned that men's football "needs to change" if more players are to feel comfortable coming out.
Daniels became the first English professional footballer to come out as gay for more than 30 years back in 2022. Before the Blackpool star, Justin Fashanu had been the last Englishman to come out while still actively playing.
The 19-year-old has now revealed his hope that others will follow, but believes more needs to be done to convince those in the closet they will be safe if they come out. Daniels, who recently joined Bradford Park Avenue on loan, insisted he has 'only known happiness' in the 18 months since he opened up on his sexuality.
But he admitted that it may be tough for others to follow in his footsteps given the rise in homophobic abuse. Daniels called on men's football to look towards the women's game as a blueprint to be more inclusive.
"Being a target for fans is a massive thing. It's the same with racism, it's just an easy pinpoint to shout onto the pitch something racial or homophobic. It can affect your game and I feel like a lot of Premier League players want to focus on their football," he told Utilita.
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"But you shouldn't have to live all that time as a lie so I think that's the main thing. They're big icons and role models. Something does need to change with men's football and that's why I wanted to come out, to change that.
"It was a struggle at the start before I came out, but now I feel so much better, just happiness every single day. No-one in my lifetime had done it before so it was kid of going into the unknown.
Daniels is currently the only openly gay professional footballer in England"My parents didn't know so I had to tell them first, then it was my team-mates and then obviously the fans. I never really think about it when I'm with my team-mates, it's just how it should be."
Daniels has also revealed he will seek to speak to referees if he hears homophobic abuse from the stands. And he insisted that despite continuing to recieve hate on social media, he is working to ignore it.
"Sometimes before I came out we thought it might be two weeks and die down. Sometimes we though it would be massive and it was. There were some negative and that still happens now, but I've just learnt to forget about that they say and carry on," Daniels added.
"It was a massive reaction but I'm just estatic about how it was. I've never heard anything and I hope I don't, but it might happen. Being able to speak to the referee would be a big thing. I don't want to jeopardise a game.
"But it might affect me or other people who might hear it so I would be comfortable speaking to the referee about it. Statistically, there are two or three [gay players] in every team. I've said it many times, big footballers have got a lot on their backs.
"But I do hope we can see more players come out as time goes on and during their career, not just when they've retired. People say all the time 'I want to be known as the football, not just the gay player', so for me it's just showing what I can do on the pitch."
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