Homophobia in Football - 17 Year Old Jake Daniels Comes Out

JupiterKid

So it is pretty much well known that football has been a complete laggard in comparison to other team sports such as rugby and GAA in terms of top-level players coming out as gay and being accepted by their teams and fans.

It is a real disgrace that since the incredibly brave (and in hindsight foolhardy) decision of Justin Fashanu to come out back in 1990, not one top-level British football player has come out. Not one. There are reports of a number of Premier League footballers being in the closet and being urged to stay there by those within the football industry.

Until now.

17 year old Jake Daniels, a rising star with Blackpool, has come out as gay and there have been an outpouring of supportive messages from the world of Premier League football. However, the young man has also been subject to vile homophobic abuse also from some football fans. This is really sad and pathetic in the year 2022.

https://theconversation.com/jake-daniel%20...%20ing-183303

Has anyone else got any views on this? Will his coming out mark a new era for British football where players can be allowed to be themselves? How do we tackle rampant homophobia on the stands and terraces when racism and xenophobia are still big problems in football?

irelandrover

Personally I don't think it will change much. 95% of supporters are not in any way homophobic. Unfortunately 5% of football fans are complete idiots and will sing stupid chants. And they will sing anything if it gives their team and advantage.

However I might be surprised. I know quite often at the team i support that if homophobic chants are started then they are drowned out quickly by other chants. But homophobic/racist/s exist chants are still commonly heard.

blanch152

We have seen this week how idiotic and ignorant and violent some fans are with a number of attacks on players and managers by fans. Sadly, this isn't changing.

Wibbs

Justin Fashanu had incredible levels of courage to come out back when he did. I've zero interest in football so never really thought about it, or went looking, but I'm staggered that not one has come out since. In over thirty years. 😮

Northernlily

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119103666#Comment_119103666

Half of that 5% or more are probably in the closet themselves.

Certainly, they are not secure with themselves if they feel like they need to judge others within a group for validation.

buried

Big brand soccer football is the realm of the absolute thick ignorant fool. Good luck to this lad and fair play to him for having the bravery to say who he and what about he is about, but he won't get any empathy from the vast vocal majority of the audience to who he plays to, because what that audience are about is being infallibly loyal to nothing but a corporate brand or corporate badge who they have somehow believed "identifies" them. A corporation that doesn't give two monkeys holes about them. And when things go wrong for their own corporation or when they are playing against another corporation, this audience of psychotic fanboy idiots will sink to any sort of level of scumbaggery to influence the outcome. That's what that hyped up grim sport is ultimately about.

Gatling

He's not the first gay in the village unfortunately ,but it won't change a thing clubs can come out and promote themselves as family clubs and on match days ,but the majority of people go for the rivalry and atmosphere of big and small games ,I wouldn't be the type to cheer another teams player because he's decided to announce his sexuality ,if anything I think he's in for a very hard time in the next few years , regardless that or club's Will be chasing his signature for their own marketing value

[Deleted User]

The fact that Jake is the first man in three decades to come out as gay is testimony to the position that football must be neck-deep in homophobia.

It matters little that prominent footballers come out and say how great it all is. At the end of the day, the rank and file supporters come from certain socioeconomic backgrounds that tend to demonise gay people.

You wouldn't see this with croquet, tennis, or bowls, for example.

And as long as football supporters are overwhelmingly from that particular socioeconomic background, the homophobia will always exist in some form.

Gatling

@eskimohunt And as long as football supporters are overwhelmingly from that particular socioeconomic background, the homophobia will always exist in some form.

Not really football has moved on a fair bit it's come a long way since the it's working man game ,fans come from all back rounds now races and colors ,gay and straight you will even hear gay fans throwing homophobic insults at other fans and Players alike ,

You hate the other team and fans they come from the same work place ,the same estates and schools but you hate them for who they support ,it kinda died down with the younger generation who happily support who ever is winning and signing the biggest names ,but for most people in their 30s to 40s we hate the other supporters and team there's no other real explanation

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119104474#Comment_119104474

So it's just a coincidence that, of all sports, football is the one with almost weekly examples of footage of racism, violence, and homophobia?

Gatling

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119104488#Comment_119104488

It's in most sports ,if there is fans present and competitive sports being Played other players and fan's are getting abuse , even down to F1

Annasopra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119103744#Comment_119103744

Theres currently 557 premiership footballers. Over 30 years thats thousands and thousands. There have obviously been quite a few of those who never came out publicly. Not for no reason.

Annasopra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119104212#Comment_119104212

Showing your true colours there with this classist snobbery - working class communities can often be very accepting of the LGBT community.

mikemac2

Well Bohemians must be the most liberal, middle class, craft beer, right on , refugees welcome, know all the social causes and welcoming club of all

And I still hate them :D

Hate your rival club, not the player

Fr Tod Umptious

It's not just the fans.

It's the players too.

Right now the top leagues in Europe have a large number of players from Africa.

Many of them are from places where there is far less acceptance of gays than there is in western Europe, and they hold those views also.

So if you are gay and in a team with people like that I doubt it's easy to be open about your sexuality.

Miadhc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119104971#Comment_119104971

The club promote that image, most Bohs fans don't give a s**t about all these social issues. There's a small cohort of clowns that moved into the area in the last 10 years that are trying to turn the club into some sort of Irish St Pauli.

The gay slurs, yeah you'll hear it in the Jodi stand and in other grounds around the country unfortunately. I don't think most of these people are truly homophobic though.

Just look at the names young fellas call each other in school, calling someone a f****t is not necessarily implying that they are gay.

People get stick over a lot things, who they are or what they look like, stuff they can't change. It's a part of life, it's never going away.

Miadhc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119104969#Comment_119104969

Of course they can be, people from all walks of life can be accepting. There was a recent survey done in England that showed rural and middle class areas ranked higher in their acceptance of gay people. Several parts of London you had almost 40% of people saying being gay is immoral.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119103666#Comment_119103666

THen it's up to the 95% to tell the 5% to cop the **** on and report them to stewards if they start with the bigotry. If somone started shouting n*****r at a black player you wouldn't have 5% joining in, you'd have 99.99% getting him chucked out - why should iit be any different with homosexuality? Or religion? Or anything else for that matter?

irelandrover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119105320#Comment_119105320

Where did I say it was treated differently?

To that 5% nothing is treated different. I said that in my post. Racist/homophobic/sexist/ and religious are all fair game. They are idiots. And we drown out their chants.

Maybe you can say how you think that Daniels coming out will help?

Why is this news worthy.

Ok he is gay what's the ground breaking story here? I think we need as a society to move away from this kind of media.

Being gay is socially acceptable for years now so I don't see the issue.

Football fans are violent and there is trouble at matches etc this is the real story here.

Annasopra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119105356#Comment_119105356

Its news because in the space of 30 years only 2 players publicly came out.

Hamachi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119105188#Comment_119105188

To be fair, it’s not just the African players. Anybody who has played football at any level, knows that homophobia is rampant in the dressing rooms. It transcends social class and ethnicity. Some of the most outrageous things I’ve heard, have come from very those with very middle class, indigenous backgrounds. They might not have the same religious convictions as the African players, but the thought processes aren’t dissimilar.

Hamachi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119105320#Comment_119105320

You clearly know very little about football and the dynamics of supporters.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119105363#Comment_119105363

Again I dont see the issue here that's choice or a clear indication of Soccer fans which unfortunately looking at history wont change.

I think the only gay in the village and coming out cards are both old hat at this stage.

Gay marriage is legal and widely accepted by society all be it not soccer fans obviously.

The issue of coming out and reporting on reactions etc is sensationalist.

We are all equal in society there should be no differentiation.

It's like non white players they get dogs abuse unfortunately again very unjust by fans .

But the coming outside treated like some sort of revelation

Im sorry but this is not news it's a widely accepted sexuality.

Again the issue here is football fans behaviour to all not one demographic and how this should be addressed as a whole.

Gay or straight.

irelandrover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119105510#Comment_119105510

Being gay is widely accepted and someone coming out does not normally make the news. Gay professional football players is not common and hence when one comes out it makes the news. This player is the only gay football player to come out in the 4 professional league in England. Of course it is going to make the news.

seamus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119105516#Comment_119105516

And when you see what happened to Justin Fashanu, it's not surprising that nobody else has come out in that time. Circumstances around his suicide aside, coming out destroyed his career and he was tortured by tabloids and homophobes, effectively forcing him to flee to the US.

Yes, we're in a whole different world at the moment, but if anything homophobia has become hardened within soccer. No doubt seen by some as the last bastion of manliness, untouched by "wokeness".

Why someone coming out is headline news? Society ignores for convenience that the largest sport on the planet is a hive of bigotry. The last refuge of troglodytes and scumbags. The various FAs pay lip service to "be nice" campaigns, but they don't want to put the money in jeopardy by doing things that might upset the dictatorships and theocracies. We can't expect soccer to "fix itself", it's up to society to force it to change. And that includes celebrating and rewarding players for standing up and putting themselves out there.

This kid at the start of his career has made a huge stand. Maybe he won't be up there with the most elite players, but he has stood out in a way that many others won't. He has voluntarily restricted his future career - he won't be able to travel to matches in the likes of Qatar - in order to be true to himself and set an example for other players. The hope now is that this starts a trend of players coming out. Which will have ripple effects across football as a whole. Eventually countries where homosexuality is illegal will have to be banned from hosting games, if not expelled from FIFA completely.

Boggles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119105603#Comment_119105603

Yes, we're in a whole different world at the moment, but if anything homophobia has become hardened within soccer. No doubt seen by some as the last bastion of manliness, untouched by "wokeness".

How do you gauge that?

TBF The Premier League is about the most "woke" sporting organisation out there. They are still taking the knee.

thefallingman

Sport isnt about colour, religion or sexuality. I was happy the whole thing has blown over without so much as a wimper it's not a big deal. He will get abuse from the stands, but he'd get it for something else if he didn't come out it's just the way it is in england especially. Maybe other gay players just dont want to come out, there is no reason for them not too anymore but i'm sure they have their own reasons.

Fandymo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119104212#Comment_119104212

How many elite level men's tennis players are gay?? F1 Drivers? Male golfers? Must be all neck deep in homophobia??

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119105830#Comment_119105830

It's safe to assume that if Tiger Woods came out as gay, he wouldn't receive abuse from the fans attending the Ryder Cup.

Same with bowls, or other sports where the fans have self-respect.

Football, on the other hand, has a critical mass of vile hooligan fans. Not all football fans are scumbag hooligans, but all scumbag hooligans love football.

Whether people are willing to admit it or not, football fans in particular are drenched in racism, violence, and homophobia.

Fandymo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119105876#Comment_119105876

So why has no player EVER came out? Not after 30 years, not after 60 years, NEVER. And Golf fans can be absolute dicks.

Same as F1.

Same as men's tennis.