Oxford United has tweeted support for Jake Daniels, after the 17-year-old Blackpool forward came out as gay.

The club called Daniels, who is the first male professional footballer in the UK to come out since Justin Fashanu in 1990, an “inspiration to us all”.

The club tweeted: “An inspiration to us all. Well done, Jake!”

There has been an outpouring of support from the footballing world since the player came out.

In a statement released by Blackpool, Daniels described how he was inspired by other out athletes such as Josh Cavallo, Matt Morton and Tom Daley.

He said he had been “hiding the real me” and “hated lying my whole life and feeling the need to change to fit in”.

“I want to be a role model myself by doing this,” he added.

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This story was written by Sophie Perry, she joined the team in 2021 as a digital reporter.

You can get in touch with her by emailing: sophie.perry@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @itssophieperry

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