Blackpool forward Jake Daniels became UK’s first active male professional footballer to come out as gay. His announcement was met with support from his teammates and club and it became a big milestone in of UK’s football history.
Andy Murray recently gave an interview to Bloomberg where he talked about a range of topics including Jake Daniels coming out as gay. As per Murray, the situation is getting better for gay people and the LGBTQ community in general in the UK.
“We maybe have to ask the question as to why that is the case, and why they still don’t feel comfortable to come out whilst they’re still active,” tennis star @andy_murray discusses LGBTQ+ representation in sports with @Emmabarnett https://t.co/LM65fXKvvL pic.twitter.com/FuGOewXLKt
— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) June 24, 2022
Moreover, he said, “I do think it is getting a bit better. And I think that that was really positive that he felt comfortable enough to come out. From what I’ve seen, most of the coverage has been extremely positive about it in the media.”
However, Murray feels the bigger challenge would be how his coming out will play out in the field and in the country. It is certainly something new and will take time for people to get used to it.
Andy Murray talks about no male player coming out as gay in Tennis
While the UK saw its first football player coming out as gay, no such thing has happened in the history of tennis. No male player has come out of the closet while actively playing the game. Murray also highlighted the same and said, “There’s been no male tennis players have come out as gay whilst they’ve still been playing.”
The three-time grand slam winner questioned why the gay players in male tennis still don’t feel comfortable coming out. Moreover, he said, “We maybe have to ask the question as to why that is the case and why they still don’t feel comfortable to come out whilst they’re still active.”
One reason could be the reaction of sponsors. Players fear that their sponsors would back out if they come out as gay. While the situation is not where it should be, it is way better when it comes to women’s tennis. Many women have come out while actively playing the sport including the great Martina Navratilova.