Jake Daniels reflects on coming out: ‘it still hasn’t sunk in’
In a recent interview the 17-year-old opens up about coming out and Qatar hosting the World Cup.
Jake Daniels has been reflecting on his coming out and says “it still hasn’t sunk in” yet.
In May, the Blackpool striker came out as gay – becoming the first male player in the UK to do so since 1990. At the time he said he had been inspired by Australia’s Josh Cavallo and Tom Daley.
Opening up about his coming out Jake reveals that following the announcement, his agent took control of his social media accounts. While it was for his own good, Jake missed out on seeing the positive reactions and messages.
“Jordan Henderson had messaged me and [my agent] screenshotted it and sent it to me. I was like, ‘Uh! I want to see them all,’” he says. “Then, obviously, I had the phone call from Elton John. That was crazy. I didn’t know what to say. I was just like, ‘You all right? What do I call ya?’”
Since he’s been open publicly, Jake Daniels has come to terms with being branded “inspirational,” a label he confesses to British Vogue he shouldn’t have as being gay is his life, implying that an openly gay football player should be nothing out of the ordinary.
“That’s not the label I should have. That’s just my life,” the 17-year-old says. Nevertheless, he’s taking becoming a role model in his stride.
“I want to push the community to get where it should be, especially in football and all sport. When I did get my Instagram back and I saw some of the messages, it was people’s mums saying, ‘You’ve made my son come out.’ That’s an impact I wanted to have.”
Daniels also understands why so few footballers come out while being active players, because they may want to “make the best out of their career”. “But I don’t think they should do that, because if you retire at 40 you just lied for 40 years of your life,” he adds.
Jake Daniels also voices his thoughts on the looming topic of the Qatar World Cup, a subject that seems to be blanketing the world of football with debate.
He shares that he’s “not the happiest” that the tournament is being hosted in Qatar, a country in which homosexuality can be punishable with prison sentences and even death under Sharia law.
“I know [some] people wanted to boycott it, which would have been good, but the World Cup’s massive. If you’re comfortable to go and do it, you do it,” he says.
However, Jake Daniels shares that he wouldn’t be comfortable playing in Qatar: “It would frustrate me, because why am I trying to hide my personal life for other people?
“Like, I’m going to play football for you and you can’t respect how I want to be, so it’s just not what I want to do,” he continues.
Jake Daniels joins the likes of England footballer Beth Mead and Australia’s Josh Cavallo speaking out against Qatar’s record with LGBTQ and human rights ahead of the World Cup.