Jake Daniels’ 21 words were momentous for football
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Nathan O’Hagan explores what the 17-year-old Blackpool player’s bravery in coming out publicly as gay will mean for other footballers and the game itself.
By Nathan O’Hagan
‘I’ve known my whole life that I’m gay, and I now feel that I’m ready to come out and be myself.’
Twenty one simple words. The kind of words that are heard privately every day among friends and families, as a loved one chooses to reveal their truth to the most important people in their lives.
What is significant about these 21 words this week is that they were part of a public statement issued by Jake Daniels via his employer, Blackpool Football Club. By issuing this statement, Daniels became the first British professional footballer to publicly come out as gay in nearly four decades.
Given the number of people who have played the game professionally in this country in that time, it is inconceivable that there have not been other gay or bisexual players. The explanation is, of course, that while the law of av...
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