Proud to play: Europe's elite gay athletes make coming out normal

When Jake Daniels came out earlier this year, the Blackpool FC player became the first openly gay top-tier footballer in England in three decades.

Daniels, 17, was supported by his teammates, sponsors, club management and owners in a move that might be a watershed in Europe.

Despite liberal social attitudes towards LGBT+ issues in many countries on the continent, there is still only a tiny number of professional male athletes in team sports who feel they can be fully open about their sexual identity. 

A handful of high-profile examples recently in football, rugby and ice hockey around Europe give some hope that attitudes are changing. 

"I think it's great that a young person has come out. I have friends in their 20s and they are completely different from my experience of being that age," explains Jim Dolan, founder of Pride of Lions, the official LGBT+ supporters' group at Premier Leagues West Ham United.

"They just know themselves. They know who they are, they know their place in the world." 

"Part of it is, if you are a gay footballer, what are you going to do in terms of research to prepare for possibly coming out? You're going to become familiar with Justin Fashanu's story even if you weren't aware of it before, and that kind of thing is going to have an effect I'm sure," Dolan told Euronews.

Justin Fashanu was the last -- and only -- high-profile English footballer to come out towards the end of his playing career in 1990.

A series of salacious stories he sold to the tabloids about his own sex life saw him fall out of favour with fans and managers. He was branded an outcast by his brother and ended up playing for lower league sides in England and Scotland before moving abroad to play and coach. 

An allegation of sex with an