Tom Daley urges gay footballers to come out: 'I think people would be surprised how supported they'd be'
“It comes down to each individual person. At the time I individually felt ready, I did it. Everyone's been supportive,” the diver said of his own experience
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Tom Daley has voiced his encouragement for gay footballers to come out despite the homophobic stigma surrounding the sport.
If they were to do so, the Olympic diver said, they would receive more praise than the prejudice and abuse that they would perhaps be expecting.
“I think people would be surprised how supported they'd be if they were to come out in a football environment,” he said at the Leaders in Sport conference in London.
“(But) you don't have to do a YouTube video and announce that you're straight. It shouldn't be anyone's business.
“You should just be able to live your life the way you want to live it.
“It comes down to each individual person. At the time I individually felt ready, I did it. Everyone's been really supportive.”
Daley, 20, announced on YouTube in December 2013 that he was "dating a guy". He said that discussing his decision to make the revelation via the video sharing site was pre-planned with his sporting sponsors to allow him to have full control of his own publicity.
“There were so many different opinions of what I should do, how I should do it,” he said. “A TV interview, a press interview, all those different ideas.
“YouTube just felt natural. I was able to say everything I wanted to say without being asked any extra questions.”
He is currently in a relationship with 40-year-old Hollywood screenwriter Dustin Lance Black.
Daley is set to travel to Kazan, Russia in 2015 to compete in the Aquatics World Championships, but says he has no plans to take a political stand against Putin’s anti-gay laws, despite having done so during the Sochi Winter Olympics earlier this year.
“I have no concerns whatsoever about going to Russia,” he added.
“I've been there five, six times before and never had any problems.
“You go there to dive, you don't go there thinking about doing anything other than that.
“For me, I wouldn't go there thinking 'oh, I'm going to do this' or 'I have to do this'. I just go there and focus on my performance.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments