Footballer Jake Williamson Found His Voice After Coming Out As Gay

After coming out in 2021, footballer Jake Williamson was effectively cut out of by his fellow teammates. Now, as a Stonewall Sports Champion, Williamson wants to make sure homophobia in sport is a thing of the past. 

From an early age, Williamson was always interested in sport. He was also struggling to reconcile that with secretly being a gay man. He didn’t have any gay footballers to look to for guidance, so he assumed he would just stay closeted.

Met Partner During COVID And Everything Changed

At the age of 21, during the height of COVID-19, Williamson met his partner Paul and everything changed. He decided it was time to embrace who he is and come out.

Soon after, he moved to Birmingham and joined a Sunday football league. During an interview in December 2021, with BBC’s LGBT Sport Podcast,  he decided to open up and talk about his coming out journey. 

During the interview, Williamson spoke about meeting his partner and how the relationship flourished during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“The more we spoke, the more sort of relationship blossomed,” he said. 

“I remember vividly, we used to take my dog for a walk. And I just remember, for the first time ever, we just held hands, and at that point, it was the most powerful experience still today that I’ve ever had in my life. 

“You would think that’s so strange, but literally, I held his hand and I just internally I just thought, ‘yeah, this is it. I need to I need to just sort of bite the bullet’, and I was ready.” 

Teammates Shut Him Out

After the interview, however, his teammates completely shut him out.

Discussing the aftermath of the interview with PinkNews, Williamson said, “I then experienced homophobia for the first time. I was completely shut out of the team.” 

He went on to say, “It’s bad enough that, in the society we live in, we get made to feel like we’re the worst thing on earth sometimes – so it’s not nice when your own football team just cuts you off.

“It didn’t stop me playing football but it was something that made me say: ‘Right, I need to address this rather than be sad about it.’”

He decided to speak out about homophobia in sport and be that representation that he was looking for when he was coming out. 

“You should be able to enjoy sport without that weight on your shoulders,” he told PinkNews. 

“You can’t save the world, you can’t solve every issue under the sun, but that’s the route and the path I’ve had to navigate. I want to make that path easier for the next generation.” 

Became The Representation That He Was Seeking

In December 2022 he became a sports ambassador for the LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall.

In a post to Twitter at the time, he wrote, “My aim is to help people see how amazing it is to be your authentic self but also help to bridge the gaps in the community and allow people to feel connected. 

“A lot of discussions I have and my own experience tended to be a massive internal battle with what being gay is and not really feeling connected with the and pride element / movement. It’s difficult to almost be told what categories you are.

“This can create the divide and we want to help explore this in more detail. It’s also amazing to know that there is a supportive network available to help you at any point.”

A lot of discussions I have and my own experience tended to be a massive internal battle with what being gay is and not really feeling connected with the 🏳️‍🌈 and pride element / movement. It’s difficult to almost be told what categories you are.

— Jake Williamson (@jakewilliamson4) December 27, 2022