MLS ace on anxiety as gay player, bringing boyfriend to meet team and Jake Daniels

In May, Blackpool star Daniels courageously became the UK's first male professional footballer to come out as gay since Justin Fashanu in 1990.

And Martin knows more than most that trying to make it among the elite in sport is hard enough without also being forced to hide who you are.

In an exclusive interview with talkSPORT, the San Diego Loyal midfielder said: "Just to see a player in the UK come out at any level and at any age is incredible.

"But for Jake to be 17 years old and have the courage to share that with the world is really beyond belief."

Martin took the inspiring decision himself to publicly come out as gay while playing for Minnesota United in 2018.

At the time, the 26-year-old was the only male professional athlete in the major American sport leagues to do so.

He said: "It was an extremely liberating experience coming out.

"I was still in the closet playing for [MLS side] DC United at the time, I was dealing with it. A lot of anxiety of just showing up to work every day.

"Worried about being outed. Worried about what my teammates, the fans, whether if I came out, would I still have a job.

"And frankly, that anxiety of not knowing impacted my play. I wasn't able to perform at my best until I figured out that huge part of me outside of the field."

Following Daniels' announcement, the youngster was hailed for kick-starting a positive change for LGBTQIA+ players in football.

And it's been a long time coming as new research by BonusFinder.com found nearly one in five American sports fans say professional players should hide their sexuality or gender identity.

Yet Martin's advice for Daniels was: "Confide in the people that you see every day, your family, your friends, and then as you feel comfortable opening up to your teammates, those are the people that you're going to be interacting with the most.

"I hope those people that are closest to him have his best interests and are supporting him and obviously keeping his focus where it needs to be, because I know that there's a lot of distractions and there's going to be a lot of people asking a lot of him.

"But ultimately his number one job and what he loves doing the most is playing football and I'm sure that he knows that and the people that are guiding him along his journey will make sure his focus is in the right place.

"Obviously he's going to be under a microscope and I just hope that people give him the space to be able to show what he can do on the football field while also celebrating the fact that he is one of the only openly out gay male players."

Daniels' decision was all the more remarkable considering his age, with Martin revealing he struggled the most with homophobia as a teenager.

"For me actually it was hardest when I was aged 12 to 18, before I became a professional.

"It was actually the professional environment that allowed me to be a little bit more comfortable. And I didn't hear as much abusive language, I didn't hear as much homophobic language."

It wasn't until he was 22 years old that he felt confident enough in his own skin to come out to his Minnesota teammates.

The United States U20 international revealed: "I think there's been varying experiences in varying degrees where I felt very supportive as a player. I've been lucky.

"The past three locker rooms I've been in at DC United, Minnesota United and San Diego Loyal, I've had just amazing teammates.

"Whether it was at DC, coming out to teammates for the first time and just having them be completely supportive of me and then giving me the courage to share with the team in Minnesota.

"I was able to bring a boyfriend to one of the first team outings, and it was a birthday party for a teammate and it was just extremely seamless.

"I had no negative comments from my teammates and they just wanted to support me and get to know me better.

"By the time I signed in San Diego, I was an out player and it was pretty clear to my teammates - all they had to do was check my social media or kind of get to know me at all - but from the minute I signed they have just completely supported me.

"Not only just supported me on a surface level, but actually tried to get to know me as a person and genuinely get to know what it's like to have a gay teammate.

"A lot of my teammates, to be honest, they haven't had a gay friend, a gay teammate before. So for them, it's an opportunity to really get to know someone on a personal level that they haven't had before."

BonusFinders' study of 3,000 fans, designed in consultation with LGBTQIA+ charity LGBT HERO, found that 26 per cent believe governing bodies should be doing more to protect LGBTQIA+ players.

Martin told talkSPORT: "There needs to be added education. And that education needs to be done at the youth level.

"How can we make the locker room as comfortable as a place for kids that are 12 years old and then at the professional level, because I think that's where the biggest issue is.

"If there's a gay player growing up and he feels like the team or just sports in general isn't welcoming and he hears this homophobic language, then he's just simply not going to progress in the game and he's not going to want to stay in the sport.

"So if we lose a lot of gay players at the youth level, then of course, they're not going to end up being professionals. And then there's no representation at the professional level.

"Then we sit here and we say 'oh, why is there not more gay players?'

"Well, it's because the spaces haven't been made to feel like there can be gay players and that there should be."

Thankfully, there was enough support and space for Daniels to come out and Blackpool didn't miss out on a future superstar.

Martin said: "My world when I came out was just turned upside down and there were so many new opportunities and people to meet.

"I wish [Jake] nothing but the best and I hope he can really enjoy this time because I know there's probably going to be a lot at him, but he's got a lot to look forward to."

Collin Martin, San Diego Loyal soccer player, who came out as gay in 2018, has partnered with BonusFinder and LGBT HERO to understand representation and attitudes towards the LGBTQIA+ community in US professional team sport.