Jake Daniels be first UK male footballer to e out as gay sce 1990 | Football | The Guardian

Contents:

• MEET THE 16 OUT GAY AND BI FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE NFL’S 103-YEAR HISTORY
• JAKE DANIELS BE FIRST UK MALE FOOTBALLER TO E OUT AS GAY SCE 1990
• WHAT HAPPENED TO THE NFL'S FIRST ACTIVE GAY PLAYER, MICHAEL SAM?
• IN A LLEGE FOOTBALL FIRST, HBCU PLAYER OUT AS GAY
• KEV MAXEN BE FIRST GAY MALE NFL COACH
• 20 INSPIRG GAY AND LBIAN FOOTBALL (SOCCER) PLAYERS
• JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU
• 8 MALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DARED TO COME OUT AS GAY
• RAIRS’ CARL NASSIB ANNOUNC HE’S GAY, AN N.F.L. FIRST

MEET THE 16 OUT GAY AND BI FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE NFL’S 103-YEAR HISTORY

The NFL has played for more than 100 years and there have been 16 gay or bi players to e out publicly. 16 and the first one to e out as gay while on an active roster.

Over the years, Outsports has known of a few other players who are gay but have never e out, even when retired.

Jenks is gay and this was the the first time he wily discsed his sexual orientatn. 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.

JAKE DANIELS BE FIRST UK MALE FOOTBALLER TO E OUT AS GAY SCE 1990

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.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE NFL'S FIRST ACTIVE GAY PLAYER, MICHAEL SAM?

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. "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. 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.

IN A LLEGE FOOTBALL FIRST, HBCU PLAYER OUT AS GAY

"Speakg to OutSports, he ntued: "Especially at an HBCU, young Black gay men need an outlet.

The Blackpool forward Jake Daniels has end s of silence wh men’s football to bee the first player the UK to e out as gay sce Jt Fashanu 1990. Photograph: Pl Dennis/TGS Photo/ShutterstockDaniels’s revelatn is a strikg landmark that when men’s football is more engaged wh social issu than any recent time, but still unable to ce progrs LGBTQ reprentatn wh the year Alai Uned’s Josh Cavallo beme the only male top-flight profsnal footballer the world to e out as gay, but others are yet to follow.

In six months the men’s World Cup will be played Qatar, where homosexualy is illegal, and Cavallo revealed to the Guardian he would be “sred” to play at the tournament, the pnacle of world English football specifilly, the shadow of the talented and unfulfilled Fashanu still lgers over the game. The England ternatnal me out at the end of his reer and was to take his own life eight years later, Fashanu, Jt’s niece, who ns a charable foundatn his name, said that Daniels’s cisn would “e as a huge fort to the many footballers at all levels of the game still secretly livg as gay and who still feel unable to e out”.

KEV MAXEN BE FIRST GAY MALE NFL COACH

One such example clus David Kopay, who was a former NFL athlete back the 1970s who me out as gay.

His story was credibly spirg to future generatns of gay football players who may have faced siar challeng on their way to stardom.

20 INSPIRG GAY AND LBIAN FOOTBALL (SOCCER) PLAYERS

One such athlete is Michael Sam, the NFL's first active gay football player. Given the lack of gay reprentatn the NFL overall and the still prent stigma surroundg diverse sexualy, this was huge for football. As stated by The Huffgton Post, 2013, Sam me out as gay to his ach and teammat, beg the NFL's first active gay football player.

Acrdg to the Advote, the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn ed to list homosexualy as a mental illns. He was also lled slurs by a teammate durg his time at the Universy of Missouri as well, though he was apologized to after beg angry and takg a stand agast the homophobic language. Reportedly, Sam is also pro football's first openly gay ach, markg another tremendo first for the athlete his reer.

As the World Cup go on a untry where homosexualy is illegal, many global football fans are havg to reckon wh the sports' soccer remas one of the most popular sports around the world, very few players have been able to e out and enjoy a succsful reer afterwards. Gay players face prsure om teammat, ownership, ach, and fans over their are some of the men who have e out, fightg those stereotyp, and pavg the way for LGBTQ+ athlet who e after them. Atralian striker Andy Brennan me out as gay 2019, beg the first out gay Atralian male footballer.

JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU

He me out 2011, and won the seventh season of Swedish realy show Let's Dance, beg the first out gay person to w. His early clubs knew he was gay, and he me out durg his reer, beg the first pro footballer to do so.

In 2014, he beme Bra's hight-profile out, gay player, and was the first out, gay male player to play at Wembley. He later me out as gay and has sce spoken out about the difficulti queer players face.

8 MALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DARED TO COME OUT AS GAY

The South Ain footballer beme Ai's first out, gay male footballer when he me out 2015. Rogers me out as gay 2013, beg the first out gay man to pete a top North Amerin pro sports league when he played for the LA Galaxy that same year. Later, he revealed he qu the sport as a rult of homophobia he faced when he me out.

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. ’ 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. “I’m sure the young man has heard his fair share of slurs om teammat unaware that he is gay.

RAIRS’ CARL NASSIB ANNOUNC HE’S GAY, AN N.F.L. FIRST

Cyd Zeigler, the -founr of Outsports, noted that “so many ‘first’ gay athlet — John Amaechi, Jason Colls, Michael Sam — have been Black men. Kev Maxen, an associate strength ach for the Jacksonville Jaguars football team, me out as gay on Thursday an terview wh the LGBTQ sports-foced webse Outsports.

That signatn mak Maxen the first out gay male ach — of any level — men’s U. In 2014, Michael Sam was the first out gay player to be drafted when he was selected by the then-St. On the achg si, several female assistant ach the NFL have prevly e out as gay, cludg former San Francis 49ers assistant ach Katie Sowers, there has prevly been no known out gay male head or assistant ach the league.