Soccer, Jankto comes out “I’m gay and I don’t want to hide anymore”

Jacub Jankto, Sparta Prague midfielder, on loan from Getafe, a Spanish club, came out with a video posted on his Instagram profile: “I’m gay and I don’t want to hide anymore,” says the 27-year-old Czech player, formerly of Ascoli , Udinese and Sampdoria: «Like everyone else, I have my strengths. I have my weaknesses. I have a family. I have friends. I have a job that I have done to the best of my ability, for years, with seriousness, professionalism and passion. Like everyone else, I too want to live my life in freedom. Without fears. Without prejudices. Without violence. But with love.”

It is not the first coming out in sport – the Guardian recalls that the first was Justin Fashanu, an English player who, after declaring himself in 1990, played for Airdrie and then for Hearts in 1993 and 1994 – but for football, given the notoriety of Jacub, it is still a historic day, which certifies a change of course. In October 2021 Adelaide United midfielder Josh Cavallo revealed that he is gay, as did Englishman Jake Daniels, who at the age of 17 was accompanied on the journey by his club, Blackpool, who play in the second english series. Josh Cavallo was not the first Australian to publicly tell of being gay: in May 2019 Andy Brennan had in fact done so in an interview with the Herald Sun. Collin Martin’s coming out dates back to June 2018, who at the time played in MLS for Minnesota United. In reality, the first to declare his homosexuality, in the 90s, was Justin Fashanu. He was a rising star in English football and hoped his coming out would inspire other colleagues to do the same. But he didn’t go that way. Fashanu’s career plummeted, the black community accused him of exposing it, and on May 3, 1998, he took his own life. Signs of times when that limit was still insurmountable.

End of career
Others waited to close their competitive career before coming out like the German Thomas Hitzlsperger, former midfielder of Aston Villa, Stuttgart, Lazio, West Ham, Wolfsburg and Everton and today sporting director of Stuttgart: he explained that he had postponed coming out for fear of the reaction of his companions. Even the former Monteral Impact, David Testo, declared his homosexuality only at the end of his career, in 2011. Many others came out, among them Robbie Rogers in 2013, once he hung up his boots. But then the American full-back returned to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy, and won an MLS Cup.