Jake Daniels Becomes First Out U.K. Pro Soccer Player in 30 Years
statement on Blackpool's website. “I’ve known my whole life that I’m gay, and I now feel that I’m ready to come out and be myself.”He added that he’s been inspired by other gay athletes like Australian pro soccer player Josh Cavallo and Olympic diver Tom Daley.“I’ve hated lying my whole life and feeling the need to change to fit in.
I want to be a role model myself by doing this,” Daniels said. “There are people out there in the same space as me that may not feel comfortable revealing their sexuality.
I just want to tell them that you don’t have to change who you are, or how you should be, just to fit in.” In an interview with Sky Sports News, Daniels told the outlet that he thought he had to hide his sexual orientation while pursuing professional soccer.
He said that he’d planned to only come out once he retired from the sport.“But I just knew that was just such a long time of just lying and not being able to have what I want,” Daniels told the outlet.He said he’d known he was gay when he was younger, about five or six.
