Chelsea have shown their support to Blackpool youngster Jake Daniels, who has become the first professional footballer since Justin Fashanu in 1990 to come out as gay.
LGBTQ+ representation in the men's game has been non-existent since Fashanu came out. Since then, the likes of Thomas Hitzlsperger, Robbie Rogers, Collin Martin and Australian footballing pair Josh Cavallo and Andy Brennan have come out in different circumstances. Yet, there still wasn't a player currently in the UK in the professional game to have taken that brave step.
However, this brave 17-year-old has stepped forward and has done something which hopefully signifies a positive change in fan culture when it comes to acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community which has been ostracised for many decades now within English football. "Now is the right time to do it," Daniels said on Monday via The Athletic. "I feel like I am ready to tell people my story. I want people to know the real me.
