Gary Lineker has hailed the brave decision taken by Blackpool forward Jake Daniels to come out as gay and says his decision will encourage others to follow his path.
Daniels, 17, has become the UK’s first openly gay professional footballer in over 30 years after Justin Fashanu came out in 1990. The teenager revealed his sexuality publicly on Monday and said he felt “relief” to come out to the world, having already opened up to his family and team-mates.
And Lineker praised the youngster’s courage for being a trailblazer for others to be inspired by, predicting that he will be embraced by his fellow professionals following his announcement: ”I think he will be massively accepted," Lineker told BBC Sport. "Not just in his own dressing room but players he plays against. I think, overall, dressing rooms wouldn't think about it. They will consider if you're a good footballer or not. That's all that matters.
"I'm so pleased as I think he is going down a path many others will follow and I think the game will be better for it. Once they see that the overwhelming majority of people will be accepting, others will follow suit."
Lineker was joined by actor Sir Ian McKellen, who is openly gay and an activist for LGBTQ+ rights, in commending the teenager: "At 17, @Jake_Daniels11 represents a generation that rejects old-fashioned homophobia in football and elsewhere: those who haven’t yet grown up as he has," McKellen tweeted. "He sets an example. No wonder so many of us, gay and everyone else, admire & treasure him as a hero. What a goal he's scored!"
Daniels, who said he knew he was gay from an early age, consulted with his family, Blackpool, LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall and Sky Sports before deciding to go public. “Now is the right time to do it. I feel like I am ready to tell people my story,” he told Sky Sports. "Since I've come out to my family, my club and my team-mates, that period of overthinking everything - and the stress it created - has gone. It was impacting my mental health.
"Now I am just confident and happy to be myself finally. I have been thinking for a long time about how I want to do it, when I want to do it. I know now is the time. I am ready to be myself, be free and be confident with it all.”
Daniels, who recently made his first-team debut for Blackpool, is the first player to play whilst openly gay in English football since Fashanu. Other players such as ex-Aston Villa player Thomas Hitzlsperger, who tweeted his support for Daniels, and former Hull City youth player Thomas Beattie only revealed their sexuality after retiring or leaving the country.
Prior to Daniels’ announcement, the only known openly gay player playing for a top-flight club was Adelaide United’s Joshua Cavallo. The Australian came out last year and gained global support from footballers and high-profile athletes in doing so. However, Cavallo has since been the target of homophobic abuse in recent times and Daniels accepts that there may be an initial backlash from some areas of the sport.
"Of course I am aware that there will be a reaction to this and some of it will be homophobic, maybe in a stadium and on social media," Daniels added. "It's an easy thing for people to target. The way I see it is that I am playing football and they are shouting stuff at me, but they are paying to watch me play football and I am living my life and making money from it. So shout what you want, it's not going to make a difference."
