Openly gay players

M

Matt

Well-known member
What do we think the reception would be if a prominent (e.g. starting PL player for a mid-table team) came out as gay?

Personally, I feel that society has progressed enough that they would be applauded, and any homophobic chants from the stands would, for the most part, get shouted down and would quickly become unacceptable - in the same way that if fans were openly chanting racist things to black players, they would get shut down by other fans. I do think there may be some initial issues with away fans who have been on the drink all day, but it would be quite quickly put to bed.

There's always the knuckle-dragging element of course, which will always be present unfortunately - but on the whole, I think it would be seen as a positive and accepted quite quickly.

I do think a significant minority on social media would be predictably horrific, but also a lot of support.

Saying that, I am neither gay nor black - so I may be well off the mark in terms of how far we've come as a society on these issues and how they affect people.
 
I'd like to think the majority at the games would be supportive, though there would definitely be some harassment from the more bigoted of fans.

I think that they'd get horrific abuse on social media, sadly.
Not just from our country, millions of people from countries where homosexuality is still illegal and punishable follow the Premier League and European football, and they're active on social media.
You only had to see the reaction to Casillas "coming out" the other day, there were some sickening comments and that's a retired player.
 
r00fie1 said:
If it was a Boro player........?
Click to expand...

Well I said a starting PL player for a mid-table team - my thinking is that it is someone who is an established top level player, but not someone like Messi or Ronaldo who has such a fanbase that the outcome could be skewed. Someone like Maddison at Leicester, for example.
 
Matt said:
What do we think the reception would be if a prominent (e.g. starting PL player for a mid-table team) came out as gay?

Personally, I feel that society has progressed enough that they would be applauded, and any homophobic chants from the stands would, for the most part, get shouted down and would quickly become unacceptable - in the same way that if fans were openly chanting racist things to black players, they would get shut down by other fans. I do think there may be some initial issues with away fans who have been on the drink all day, but it would be quite quickly put to bed.

There's always the knuckle-dragging element of course, which will always be present unfortunately - but on the whole, I think it would be seen as a positive and accepted quite quickly.

I do think a significant minority on social media would be predictably horrific, but also a lot of support.

Saying that, I am neither gay nor black - so I may be well off the mark in terms of how far we've come as a society on these issues and how they affect people.
Click to expand...
You would defo hope that would be the case. Many people have relatives or friends who are homosexual so I think it would be applauded by the majority and the older generation who likely disapprove are too long in the tooth to boo that situation
 
All I know is that it’s a total non issue for me… I can’t speak for anyone else’s thoughts on this..

I feel for those that are in turmoil over this issue, i Just wish we were all in a place where someone isn’t defined by their sexuality in society…
 
www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk

Blackpool's Jake Daniels 'coming out' as gay changes football for the better

This Pride Month, a sports panel discussed Blackpool FC’s player Jake Daniels’ coming out story and what this means for football.
www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk

Blackpool's Jake Daniels coming out 'changes football for the better'​

16th June 2022 by Alexandria Slater
1665735799572.png
Blackpool's Jake Daniels coming out as gay changes football for the better

This Pride Month, a sports panel discussed Blackpool FC’s player Jake Daniels’ coming out story and what this means for football across the country.

Daniels decision to reveal his sexuality in May received an overwhelmingly positive reaction from the public.
Football v Homophobia hosted the ‘Behind the Headline’ event with Sports Media LGBT+ founder Jon Holmes and Football Writers’ Association chair Carrie Brown.
1665735859681.png
Jake Daniels said he had been inspired by other sportsmen who have come out (Sky Sports News/PA handout)
Sky Sports journalist Tim Thornton worked with Daniels and his mum on the story for months.

He said: “I think Jake’s story shows that Blackpool have created an environment where he felt comfortable enough to come out.

“We expected this would make the front page of the papers, so we me made sure Jake was ready and the reaction has been fantastic.”
Thornton shared he felt a big responsibility to his older brother who is gay because "he had a tough time growing up" and didn’t want anyone else to experience the same issues his brother had.

http://
A message from Jake Daniels. https://t.co/R2wEsniXKV pic.twitter.com/dcznYKtSaD
— Blackpool FC (@BlackpoolFC) May 16, 2022
Click to expand...

In coming out publicly as gay, Jake provides representation in British men’s professional football for the first time in decades.
In a statement, Daniels said he is hoping he “can be a role model, to help others come out if they want to.”

Jay Lemonius, Head of ED&I at Brentford FC and captain of Stonewall FC also joined the panel to discuss how grassroots football can become more inclusive.

With the history football has around the area of LGBTQ+ inclusion, the lack of experience can "breed a lack of confidence".
Lemonius said: “Giving people the tools to understand and identify the skills that they already have will provide that support that these players need. Jake’s story is a testament to that.

“Success of LGBTQ+ inclusion doesn’t have to look like how many players are openly gay in the Premier League or the Championship.

“I have no doubt that clubs up and down the country are having conversations today that they probably weren’t having three, four, five years ago let alone a week before Jake had come out."

Visibility and representation in football can have a real impact for LGBTQ+ people who want to get into football but haven’t because ‘they don’t feel like there’s a space for them.’

Since Daniels’ story, two Scottish referees, Craig Napier and Lloyd Wilson, have publicly come out as gay.

Sport Engagement and Progammes Manager at Stonewall, Erin Williams led the charity’s behind-the-scenes support for the player and his club.
She said: “I really felt the trust and work that Blackpool had been putting into the preparation of this story.

“He was infectious and smiling and had this extraordinarily different response to what I had when I came out because he had the proper support systems around him.”

Thornton continued: “Jake has come out and shown that it’s a positive thing and everybody’s supporting you.
“Hopefully, that’s across the board at all different clubs where players feel comfortable enough just to be themselves.
“We’re all ready for change in football because it’s long overdue.”
 
www.telegraph.co.uk

'An inspiration to many': Jake Daniels praised by Boris Johnson for 'bravery' in coming out

Blackpool striker Daniels, 17, is the first male professional footballer to come out as gay since Justin Fashanu in 1990
www.telegraph.co.uk www.telegraph.co.uk

May 2022​

Pressure awaits, but those close to Daniels clearly believe he has the character to handle it​

by Sam Dean
It has been a momentous year in the young life of Jake Daniels, who started the season as a promising youth-team prospect at Blackpool and ends it with a professional contract, a sponsorship deal, a first-team debut and the youth team player-of-the-season award to his name.
For most teenage footballers, such progress would be enough for now. The summer looms, after all, and with it comes a chance to briefly step back from the relentless pressures of the sporting world. This is the time for a holiday, perhaps, or just a chance to do all those things that 17-year-old footballers are not allowed to do during a season.

Daniels, evidently, has other ideas. “It has been quite a crazy year,” he told Sky Sports, in the interview that made him the UK’s only openly gay active male professional footballer. “Everything has happened at once but it feels right. When this season started, I just wanted to prove myself as a player. I think I have. So this was the one last thing in my head that I knew I needed to do.”

Daniels will now become a household name, and a major news story. A different pressure awaits, although it says plenty about his character that his family, club and representative obviously believe he can handle all that is to follow.

It is clear that Daniels was already a credit to his club and a source of pride for all of the academy coaches and administrators who had seen him rise through the youth ranks. He was only seven years old when he first joined Blackpool, a local lad from nearby Bispham who had played for the Bispham Junior Football Federation and Clifton Rangers.

1665736303857.png
Daniels was destined to make headlines due to his football ability regardless Credit: SHUTTERSTOCK

A decade in the junior teams led to a professional contract, signed in February, hours after he had scored against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the FA Youth Cup. “I have worked hard to reach this stage,” he said at the time. “I have just turned a dream into a reality.”

For the club, these are the success stories they all work towards. “He is a local boy,” said academy director Ciaran Donnelly after Daniels signed his professional contract. “Which makes this even more special for the academy, given that he has progressed through the pathway from such a young age.”

The football itself will now fall into the background, in terms of the wider discussion, but it is clear that Daniels is a player of considerable promise. He scored 30 goals for the youth team this= season before making his senior debut against Peterborough earlier this month.
“Jake has great attributes that can give him a real chance of making future progress with the club,” said Donnelly earlier this year. “He is quick, powerful and technically very good off both feet. Scoring goals comes naturally to him.”

Life has not slowed down since Daniels signed that first professional contract, which keeps him at Blackpool until June 2024. In March, he went on loan to Northern Premier League side Bamber Bridge, and then in April he was voted Blackpool’s youth team player of the season.

There is more: earlier this month he scored in the final as the under-18s beat Rochdale to win the Lancashire FA Professional Youth Cup. Then came the senior debut and, following that, he last week posted on social media to say he had agreed a deal with sportswear manufacturers Adidas.
It must have made for quite the whirlwind, but none of it will compare to what comes next. The bravery he has shown will make headlines across the world, and will no doubt change so many aspects of his life. “It is a step into the unknown,” he said in an open letter on Blackpool’s website, although this is clearly a young man who has grown used to making significant strides forward.
 
It just shouldn't matter anymore....
We will always get morons in the crowd...but by enlarge i feel football can deal with it better than 30 years ago....it will still be tough

Because its the largest attended sport in the country you will get a bigger cross section of society in the crowd...therefore more crass comments

But ..as I've touched on before....rugby.....not a murmur of idiotic behaviour or comments from the crowd...why is that....
 
Gary Lineker reporting today that 2 Prem players are very close to being able to announcing they are gay.
Wonder if they are waiting for the World Cup to start.

As others have said its a risk but, hopefully the vast majority of us will support them and allow others some breathing space.
 
Has the lad at Blackpool been getting any grief?

I haven't seen any reports of unacceptable comments/chants at Blackpool games towards the lad.. there may have been though but I don't think anyone really cares, as they shouldn't.
 
WilderBall said:
Has the lad at Blackpool been getting any grief?

I haven't seen any reports of unacceptable comments/chants at Blackpool games towards the lad.. there may have been though but I don't think anyone really cares, as they shouldn't.
Click to expand...

Not seen anything reported, but he's also not a first team player.

He came off the bench for 9 minutes in the final game of last season, and that's his one and only appearance in Blackpool's matchday squads.
He came out after that game too.
 
I don't think the vast majority of fans care either way to be honest. People are not as narrow minded on the whole and often drawing attention to things like this just makes people irritated by its over exposure. We have moved on in society, thankfully. and often the media like to promote the message that we haven't. A dramatic, exaggerated story will sell more newspapers than a real one.

Does a family living in Loftus, or a kitchen sink estate in Boro, spend time discussing whether a footballer is gay, trans or bisexual ect? Probably not as they are more concerned with where the money is coming from to pay the rent or put food on the table.

I think this was exemplified in an article I read in one of the newspapers at the start of the covid pandemic. The page was full of stories of suffering, death, predicted death, and the concern expressed around finding a vaccine. At the bottom of the page there was a small piece describing the singer Sam Smiths 'ordeal' and 'anguish' around opening up about his sexuality.

It felt to me like it had been put there to highlight something there was enough awareness of. It seemed out of place at a time when the country was worried about its future and rising death numbers due to a pandemic.
 
Personally I still think abuse from away fans on Match days would be pretty horrendous.

My experience is that I find it more difficult to go to away games now than I did 10-15 years ago because I hear more racist/misogynist (toward female fans) from the coked up lot than I used to.

Last year at Sheff Utd (team was awful), but the lads in front never watched any of the football - shouting stuff at the opposition fans for 90 minutes. Including homophobic stuff at a lad in the home section.

Steward not wanting to do anything.

I wear slightly effeminate clothing on occasion and can have all sorts shouted at me just walking down the street. I think others think society has moved on more than it has.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top