Five famous sports personalities who have come out

Justin Fashanu (Football)

Justin Fashanu will forever be remembered as the man who went into the record books for being Britain’s first £1million black footballer when he transferred to Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest in August 1981. He played for a whole host of clubs in England and in USA including Manchester City, Newcastle United, West Ham United and his breakout club Norwich, where he made his name. He is also the first footballer to have come out openly as being “gay”. Unfortunately for him, when he declared his sexuality in 1990, the crowd and the general footballing landscape weren’t too forthcoming in accepting that fact. He ended up taking his own life in 1998 after fears of facing a lengthy jail sentence.