Jake Daniels is 17 years old and a professional footballer who plays for English Championship Team Blackpool. Last week he made the news because he came out; Jake told people he was gay.
This has made news because Jake is the first football player in over 30 years to come out while he is still playing. There may be other footballers who are gay, but they have chosen not to tell people.
Jake says, "It's been such a long time of lying... and I feel like I'm ready to tell people about my story. I want people to know the real me."
"Now I do feel like I'm ready to be myself, to be free and to be confident with it all."
Jake has been praised by England Captain, Harry Kane for his announcement. Kane says, "Football should be welcome for everyone." Jake says before he came out it was affecting his mental health but since he told people, it's been a massive relief. He days despite this season being fantastic for the Blackpool team, "Off the pitch I've been hiding the real me and who I really am. I've known my whole life that I am gay, and know I feel like I'm ready to come out and be myself."
Jake says he has been inspired by other athletes like Tom Daley and Josh Cavallo to have the "courage and determination to drive change."
The day after Jake told his mum and sister that he was gay, Jake scored four at a match. He says, "It just shows how much of a weight off the shoulders it was and what a massive relief."
The Football Association said, "Jake, you are an inspiration to us all and we fully support your decision to be open, about this part of yourself. Football is a game for all, with diversity at its heart, and this is a hugely positive step as we strive to build an inclusive game that we can all be proud of."
There is a short video interview with Jake in the link above and also a really good short video interview with two other gay footballers.
- what is coming out - why do you think telling people you are gay is called that?
- Jake says "It's been such a long time of lying." why do you think he felt he had to lie about being gay?
- what is homophobia?
- Do you think Jake worried about being gay or was he worried about homophobia?
- Jake says before he came out his metal health was being affected - how? (what does scoring 4 at a match the day after telling his mum show?)
- Jake is the first footballer in 30 years to come out. Do you think Jake is the only professional footballer who is gay? Why don't more footballers come out?
- "I've known my whole life that I am gay," - why didn't Jake tell people years ago?
- "I want people to know the real me." - why? Is this relevant to his game? Does it matter?
- "Now I do feel like I'm ready to be myself, to be free and to be confident with it all." how will coming out make Jake feel free and confident? What has changed?
- How did seeing other gay athletes support Jake? What does visibility mean? How does visibility affect us?
- The FA say they want to build an "inclusive game" what does this mean? How can they achieve that?
- Is our school inclusive? How do you know? We can use words and say it is, but does it really FEEL inclusive? How do you make a place feel inclusive?
- What can we do to support Jake Daniels today in our school?
- Why is this about No Outsiders?
No comments:
Post a Comment