Calacus Weekly Hit & Miss – Jake Daniels & Idrissa Gueye
Every week we look at the best and worst communicators in the sports world from the previous week.
HIT - JAKE DANIELS
A week is a long time in football – and 32 years is a lifetime and far too long between current professional footballers admitting that they are gay.
Times have changed considerably since Justin Fashanu came out, a move which caused him torment and ultimately resulted in him taking his own life.
Women’s football has no such issue, with many top female players openly gay an having no issue with their sexual status. Nor should they.
The rainbow laces campaign takes place every year to celebrate sexual diversity and most top flight clubs have an LGBTQ+ supporters’ club, but it has taken until now for an active player to come out.
In a carefully co-ordinated announcement, Blackpool's teenage striker Jake Daniels told Sky Sports his story.
It says much about the football industry that while his club and numerous journalists were aware, the story was kept under wraps until Daniels was ready to tell it.
He said: “For a long time I've thought I would have to hide my truth because I wanted to be, and now I am, a professional footballer. I asked myself if I should wait until I've retired to come out. No other player in the professional game here is out.
“Since I've come out to my family, my club and my team-mates, that period of overthinking everything and the stress it created has gone. It was impacting my mental heath. Now I am just confident and happy to be myself finally.”
Even this past weekend, we have seen at Everton that players from visiting team Brentford were racially abused, so Daniels will undoubtedly hear some negative comments coming his way.
What has stood out is Daniels’ maturity, aware of the attention his announcement will now have on him and the responsibility that comes with his new public status.
“I am hoping that by coming out, I can be a role model, to help others come out if they want to,” he added.
“I am only 17 but I am clear that this is what I want to do and if, by me coming out, other people look at me and feel maybe they can do it as well, that would be brilliant. If they think this kid is brave enough do this, I will be able to do it too.
“I hate knowing people are in the same situation I was in. I think if a Premier League footballer does come out that would just be amazing. I feel like I would have done my job and inspired someone else to do that. I just want it to go up from here. We shouldn't be where we are right now.”
The world of football has been universal in welcoming Daniels’ announcement.
England captain Harry Kane was one of the first to congratulate Daniels and posted: “Massive credit to you @Jake_Daniels11 and the way your friends, family, club, and captain have supported you. Football should be welcoming for everyone.”
His club, Blackpool, explained the process that resulted in the announcement: "Blackpool Football Club has worked closely with Stonewall and the relevant footballing organisations to support Jake and is incredibly proud that he has reached a stage where he is empowered to express himself both on-and-off the pitch.
“It is vital that we all promote an environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves, and that football leads the way in removing any form of discrimination and prejudice.”
Stonewall themselves posted a message which said: "We are proud that Jake has felt able to share his truth with the world. To come out publicly as the first openly gay player in men's professional football in the UK in the last 30 years takes courage. We're honoured to be supporting him."
The Professional Footballers' Association, the Football Association, Premier League and the EFL all made supportive statements while Football v Homophobia outlined the challenges gay men in football will face: “There have previously been players who felt that they had no place in the game as out gay men during their playing careers, but Jake is showing the world that you can be yourself.”
As much as rainbow laces and trite soundbites are forthcoming, clubs, administrators and sponsors need to do more, particularly as the LGBTQ community continues to grow – and it has to be authentic and meaningful because their audiences will hold them accountable.
An article in Forbes underlines the importance of supporting sexual diversity which provides financial as well as reputational benefits.
Every organisation, within sport and beyond, must ask itself if it is doing enough to encourage diversity and inclusion.
Do you have a clear position internally and externally and are you communicating that in an authentic and engaging way?
As the news fades, how much will football truly support one of its own? Hopefully Daniels has a strong team around him to support him when the inevitable abuse sadly occurs.
When Australian A League player Josh Cavallo came out late last year, he was widely praised and supported.
Sadly, he experienced homophobic abuse when his team, Adelaide United played at Melbourne Victory’s AAMI Park ground in early January.
“I’m not going to pretend that I didn’t see or hear the homophobic abuse at the game last night,” Cavallo wrote on Instagram. “There are no words to tell you how disappointed I was. As a society this shows we still face these problems in 2022.”
Football and indeed sport in general must take a more active role to ensure that it is welcoming to players whatever their sexuality – let’s hope Jake Daniels’ brave announcement is a positive watershed moment that normalises one of football’s last taboos.
MISS – IDRISSA GUEYE
While most footballers take the knee and support the Rainbow Laces campaign, promoting tolerance and inclusivity in all aspects of life, there are always going to be some individuals who refuse to comply with the collective, as is their right.
Ligue 1 has taken the rainbow initiative to the next level with champions PSG and the rest of the division wearing rainbow colours to support to the International Day Against Homophobia.
However, midfielder Idrissa Gueye was conspicuous by his absence from the team and while his absence was attributed to ‘personal reasons’ but the fact that he did it last year as well prompted further investigation.
Homosexuality is illegal in Senegal with by prison sentences of up to five years so perhaps it was no surprise that Gueye received support from his international team-mates Cheikhou Kouyate of Crystal Palace, Leicester City’s Papy Mendy and Watford’s Ismaila Sarr on social media as well as the backing of the country’s president Macky Sall while #WeAreAllIdrissa was trending on Twitter.
It prompted the French Football Federation’s ethics council to send Gueye a letter asking for clarification.
Council president Patrick Anton said: “Your absence has led to many speculations that have been very widely interpreted as a refusal to take part in this operation to raise awareness of the fight against discrimination.
“Either these suppositions are baseless, in which case we ask you to express yourself without delay in order to stop these rumours. We invite you, for example, to accompany your message with a photo of you wearing the jersey in question.
“By refusing to take part in this operation, you are validating discriminatory behaviour (and) the rejection of others, and not just against those in the LGBTQ+ movement,” Anton continued.
“The impact of soccer in society and the way players are role models for those who admire them gives all of us a personal sense of responsibility. We hope this letter makes you conscious of the fact you need to clarity your position, or to make amends.”
It’s a delicate situation but one where the greater good should overcome individual prejudices.
While Jake Daniels makes his way onto the football field, at whatever level, he will not want to encounter homophobic abuse from fans and certainly not from players.
The fact that so few clubs have come out criticising the issue says a great deal.
Commendably, Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira, who hails from Senegal himself, said: “If this is the case, I will speak to Cheikhou [Kouyate] about it. It'll be an in-house conversation.”
Leicester City also made a statement: “The Club has spoken with Papy and discussed the potential interpretation of the post, which has since been removed. It was not his intention to cause offence or to suggest he shares views that conflict with the Club's long-established commitment to equality and inclusion.
"Leicester City Football Club stands firmly as an ally of the LGBTQ+ community and is proud of the work it has undertaken in recent years, aimed at helping to create a safe and inclusive environment and educating our people on the importance of allyship.
"Working closely with our Foxes Pride supporter group and other equality stakeholders in the game and throughout our communities, great strides have been made in making Leicester City a football club for everyone. Our commitment to achieving that through ongoing education, action and allyship remains as strong as ever."
There have been suggestions that Gueye’s stance could be on religious grounds, although the fact that players whose beliefs oppose gambling still wear shirts adorning betting sponsors suggests some level of hypocrisy.
Footballers are reminded that their conduct affects not only themselves, but their clubs and commercial partners and alienating one demographic can have widespread implications.
French politician Valerie Pecresse explained why this was such a concerning position for Gueye: “The players of a football club, and those of PSG in particular, are identification figures for our young people.
“They have a duty to set an example. A refusal by Idrissa Gana Gueye to join the fight against homophobia could not remain without sanction!"
It’s now up to PSG to take a firm stance on the values they seek to promote or risk elements of their global fanbase feeling let down by their ambivalence – while rival fans will use it as an opportunity to abuse them for their failure to address such an important issue.