Jake Daniels has opened up on the moment he came out as the UK's first openly gay professional footballer for more than 30 years.
The Blackpool youngster came out in May, the first British professional footballer to do so since Justin Fashanu. It was a monumental moment for the LGBT+ community and for football, with Daniels following in the footsteps of Josh Cavallo and Collin Martin.
The striker has already spoken out against FIFA's decision to hold the most recent World Cup in Qatar, a country that persecutes the LGBT+ community. And now he has opened up on his team-mates' first reaction to the news that he would be coming out as gay.
"Before I came out to them, I was a bit skeptical about what would happen. I'd heard stuff in the changing rooms," Daniels told Channel 4's Out and Proud in Football programme.
"So when I came out to them, I sat them all in a group and told them what had happened and they all started clapping so it was a bit surreal. I didn't expect that. My mental health was quite bad in December which is what made me come out.
"It was leading down the route where they were asking me to go to the doctors about certain stuff, like depression. And I kind of knew what the problem was, it was my sexuality. Definitely such a confidence boost being able to be yourself.
"The sport is masculine and you need to be see as big and strong, you want to win all the time. People associate being gay with being weak or being feminine and it's not the case at the end of the day. So I feel like that is one reason why they may be scared."
Daniels also insisted that he has no regrets about his decision to come out, despite football's reputation as an unwelcoming place for LGBT+ people. And he encouraged footballers who remain wary of coming out that the sport is now a safe place for them.
"Unbelievable, it's been amazing, definitely one of the best things I've ever done in my life. The support, how I feel, being able to live my life, how I want to live it, be myself every single day has been one of the most amazing things," the Blackpool star added.
"It's a feeling that I don't think I ever expected to happen. I used to tell myself that I wouldn't tell anyone until I was on my deathbed, that's how scared I was. So to be in a place now where I've done what I've done and I'm pushing the game, I'm so proud of myself for doing that.
"If you have people to speak to, it might seem difficult to start with, you don't know what their reaction could be. But definitely getting it off your chest and just learning. For me, it was not trying to live my life to please other people.
"I think that's the main thing I'd say. Someone's like 'how do you think someone's gonna react', I'm like 'I don't care how someone's going to be, I want to live my life, how I want to be, I'm not here to please other people'."
