Jt Fashanu: The first openly gay footballer and why he is now the Hall of Fame | ITV News

Contents:

• IN A LLEGE FOOTBALL FIRST, HBCU PLAYER OUT AS GAY
• JT FASHANU: THE FIRST OPENLY GAY FOOTBALLER AND WHY HE IS NOW THE HALL OF FAME
• A NVERSATN WH T.J. CALLAN ABOUT THE HISTORY OF GAY BLACK MEN G OUT SPORTS
• KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY
• THE SAD END OF JT FASHANU; FIRST KNOWN BLACK GAY FOOTBALLER WHO MAND A £1M TRANSFER FEE
• FIVE THGS TO KNOW ABOUT FIRST OPENLY GAY FOOTBALLER JT FASHANU
• 8 MALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DARED TO COME OUT AS GAY
• MEET THE 16 OUT GAY AND BI FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE NFL’S 104-YEAR HISTORY
• BEFORE CARL NASSIB, MICHAEL SAM WAS THE NFL’S FIRST OPENLY GAY DRAFT PICK. HE NEVER PLAYED A REGULAR SEASON GAME.

IN A LLEGE FOOTBALL FIRST, HBCU PLAYER OUT AS GAY

A Hampton Universy football player me out publicly as gay, a first for a football player at a historilly Black llege or universy, acrdg to, an LGBTQ sports news se. Byron Perks, a Divisn I fensive back for the Hampton Universy Pirat, me out as gay an Instagram story shared Wednday. I’m gay, let be known that this is not a ‘cisn’ or a ‘choice.

’ Y, this is who I am, this is who I’ve been, and this is who I’m gog to be, ” Perks wrote the story, acrdg to (Instagram stori are only available for 24 hours, so Perks’ origal story is no longer viewable) several Divisn I football players have e out as gay durg their llege reers — cludg the College of Idaho’s Cy Hicks, Amherst College’s Avery Saffold and Kansas State’s Stt Frantz — Perks is the first to do so at one of the untry’s 101 HBCUs, acrdg to both Outsports and Perks. Perks told Outsports that he’d like to help other gay Black men who are stgglg wh their sexualy.

“There hasn’t been an out gay football athlete at an HBCU. “I’m sure the young man has heard his fair share of slurs om teammat unaware that he is gay.

JT FASHANU: THE FIRST OPENLY GAY FOOTBALLER AND WHY HE IS NOW THE HALL OF FAME

Cyd Zeigler, the -founr of Outsports, noted that “so many ‘first’ gay athlet — John Amaechi, Jason Colls, Michael Sam — have been Black men. His cisn to e out publicly - an era when even his own ach cricised him for attendg gay clubs - has been an spiratn beyond the world of football. But nearly a later, ultimately me at a tragic price - Fashanu took his own life, wrg his suici note that beg gay and a personaly "is so hard" the first black man to tra football clubs for a fee of £1 ln, Fashanu is remembered by many to be a trailblazer English football for more than one reason.

Cred: PAA promisg young striker, Fashanu imprsed as part of the Norwich Cy amy and signed his first profsnal ntract December 1978, aged a month - and jt before he turned 18 - he was ma his first league appearance for Norwich and would tablish himself as a regular John Bond's young forward's eye for goals soon ught the attentn of bigger clubs, wh his stunng volley agast Liverpool voted Goal of the Season strike is still nsired one of the bt goals ever sred at Carrow Road, Norwich Cy's home are more female footballers openly gay or bisexual than male players? Cred: PAA clearly talented player, Fashanu's reer perhaps should have clud more trophi, goals and England potential was certaly curtailed by football's - and society's - unwillgns to accept Fashanu's sexualy, even before he publicly me 's said that Clough, nsired one of the greatt managers of all time, did not take kdly to Fashanu's his tobgraphy, he looks back at a time he nonted the young striker after mours he spent time gay bars.

Cred: PAOn October 22, 1990, he told the world the tth an terview wh The Sun, which ran wh the headle: "£1m Football Star: I AM GAY.

A NVERSATN WH T.J. CALLAN ABOUT THE HISTORY OF GAY BLACK MEN G OUT SPORTS

Beg gay and a personaly is so hard but everybody has hard at the moment so I n't pla about that. Jt Fashanu is still the only openly gay profsnal footballer this untry has seen. Cred: PAFashanu is nsired by many the game as a the first black man to mand a seven-figure fee and the first profsnal footballer to e out as gay, he broke through two ceilgs at a time football hooliganism was at s this day, he is still the only profsnal top-level footballer to e out publicly Jt Fashanu Foundatn, found by his niece Amal, works to nont prejudice wh football, supports those sufferg wh mental health issu and has a special foc on the LGBT Fashanu spoke of her uncle's admissn to the Hall of Fame.

Perkz/@rlnassib/@rkrelentls)When Kansas State offensive tackle and NFL hopeful Stt Frantz me out to the natn as gay, he shared that his teammat (to whom he'd e out earlier) had warmly received the news, a sign the most alpha of locker rooms may fally be ready for equaly.

Here's a list of players llege and pro ball who have proved you n be gay or bi and still n the gntlet.

KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY

Roy "Sugar Bear" Simmons, an offensive leman for the New York Giants and Washgton Redsks, beme the send NFL player ever to publicly reveal he was gay. So Coach Vce Lombardi knew McDonald was gay when he took over learship of the team 1969, but ma clear there would be no discrimatn his locker room, those close to the legend say.

Cornerback Wa Davis, who played preason wh the Tennsee Tans, Seattle Seahawks and Washgton Redsks and spent two seasons wh NFL Europe teams Berl Thunr and Barcelona Dragons, me out as gay 2012, nearly a after his retirement. He would later nfirm his sexualy on CNN and s down wh ESPN to discs the challeng of growg up gay Jamai and playg football while closeted. He later cled to sign wh the Tennsee Tans and Dallas Cowboys before g out as gay at 24, he told Philalphia Magaze revealed to the magaze that he'd dated a male cheerlear at Purdue who had threatened to out him then.

He would later move to San Francis and jo the Fog, a gay gby team, and pen a g-out blog post 2015. Wyatt Pertet, a special teams player and receiver for Capal Universy, will be a sophomore this season. The Bachelor star and former football player (who was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted ee agent and was on the practice squad of the Oakland Rairs and the Philalphia Eagl) me out as gay April of 2021, sayg he had fally e to terms wh his sexualy and the "next step all of this was sort of lettg people know.

THE SAD END OF JT FASHANU; FIRST KNOWN BLACK GAY FOOTBALLER WHO MAND A £1M TRANSFER FEE

"He wanted everyone to know he was "still the same Colton everybody met on TV" and is "proud to be gay.

The Rairs leman ma NFL history durg Pri Month 2021 when he me out as gay a heartfelt Instagram post, beg the first active NFL player to e out as member of the LGBTQ+ muny. I jt wanted to take a quick moment to say that I'm gay. The Hampton Universy player ma history October of 2022 when he me out as gay an Instagram Story post, beg the first out gay football player at a Historilly Black College or Universy.

FIVE THGS TO KNOW ABOUT FIRST OPENLY GAY FOOTBALLER JT FASHANU

"Speakg to OutSports, he ntued: "Especially at an HBCU, young Black gay men need an outlet. There hasn't been an out gay football athlete at an HBCU.

Callan has long regnized the tersectnaly of beg a gay man, a black man and a gay black man. Callan, 22, left the Miami program after experiencg what he scribed as a hostile environment, where gay people were spoken of rogatory terms, ultimately keepg him the closet.

Outsports recently spoke wh Callan about how the history of black athlet g out, and specifilly black gay men, has been particularly meangful to him.

8 MALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DARED TO COME OUT AS GAY

Two proment exampl whose g out announcements had an impact beyond sports are Jason Colls, the first NBA player to e out 2013, and Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted the NFL 2014. Derrick Gordon was the first active Divisn I men’s basketball player to e out as gay 2014. ”A person of lor has to al wh not only beg gay, but beg black, and then beg black and gay, ” Callan said.

In addn, Callan says gay black men often al wh what he lls the hypermasculy black culture. Further, Callan says that as a black man the larger gay culture “you do experience racism wh the gay muny. As an example of the latter, he relled meetg one whe gay man who told Callan, “‘I thought you were gonna be ghetto, you’re not, ’ and I’m like, ‘What are you talkg about?

MEET THE 16 OUT GAY AND BI FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE NFL’S 104-YEAR HISTORY

And you would thk that a lot of gay men would unrstand and empathize wh the fact that you are a part of multiple margalized muni, but a lot of s, there is a lack of unrstandg. Michael Sam ma history 2014 as the first openly gay player drafted the NFL. He also appreciated as a football player that someone like Sam uld e out what is nsired a hypermascule sport bee challenged the ia and stereotyp lkg beg gay to “beg weak.

BEFORE CARL NASSIB, MICHAEL SAM WAS THE NFL’S FIRST OPENLY GAY DRAFT PICK. HE NEVER PLAYED A REGULAR SEASON GAME.

“I felt very secure about [beg gay] and I feel like maybe they picked up on bee I didn’t want to speak about . Sce g out, Callan says he has received nothg but posive ments and support, and says his only regret durg his llege years was not havg other active gay football players he uld reach out to.