Full Name: Justinus Soni "Justin" Fashanu
Born: Hackney, London, England
Lived: February, 19 1961 - May, 2 1998
Justin Fashanu was a British football player from 1978 and 1997. In 1981, Fashanu signed with the Nottingham Forrest, becoming the first black UK footballer to gross £1m.
Fashanu was the first professional footballer in England to publicly come out.
Fashanu made the announcement in an October 22, 1990 exclusive with British tabloid, The Sun. The paper also ran details of alleged affairs Fashanu had with British officials, other footballers and pop stars. The coverage severely damaged Fashanu's career.
A July 1991 feature in Gay Times attempted to clear the allegations, but Fashanu's career had already eroded within the known homophobic FA.
An excerpt from the Gay Times story read: "He admits that he wasn't fully prepared for the backlash that followed and his career in football... has suffered 'heavy damage.' Although he's fully fit, no club has offered him a full-time contract since the story first appeared."
Allegations and Suicide
In March of 1998, Fashanu was further blindsided when a 17-year-old American alleged that he was sexually assaulted by Fashanu after a night of drinking. Fashanu returned to England. He was never formally charged.
Just over a month later, on May 1998, Fashanu was found hanged in an abandoned east London garage. His suicide note read, "I realised that I had already been presumed guilty. I do not want to give any more embarrassment to my friends and family"..."I hope the Jesus I love welcomes me, I will at last find peace."
The Justin Fashanu All-stars
In March 2009, a team of all-star footballers was named after Fashanu by The Justin Campaign, an organization that promotes awareness and inclusion of gay players in football. The team is sponsored by by DJ Norman Cook, also known as Fatboy Slim.
Jason Hall from The Justin Campaign told BBC News, "We decided that the best thing to do was to have a campaigning football team so the football does the talking.
"Hopefully [we'll] change people's opinions of gay people on the pitch."
Born: Hackney, London, England
Lived: February, 19 1961 - May, 2 1998
Justin Fashanu was a British football player from 1978 and 1997. In 1981, Fashanu signed with the Nottingham Forrest, becoming the first black UK footballer to gross £1m.
Fashanu was the first professional footballer in England to publicly come out.
Fashanu made the announcement in an October 22, 1990 exclusive with British tabloid, The Sun. The paper also ran details of alleged affairs Fashanu had with British officials, other footballers and pop stars. The coverage severely damaged Fashanu's career.
A July 1991 feature in Gay Times attempted to clear the allegations, but Fashanu's career had already eroded within the known homophobic FA.
An excerpt from the Gay Times story read: "He admits that he wasn't fully prepared for the backlash that followed and his career in football... has suffered 'heavy damage.' Although he's fully fit, no club has offered him a full-time contract since the story first appeared."
Allegations and Suicide
In March of 1998, Fashanu was further blindsided when a 17-year-old American alleged that he was sexually assaulted by Fashanu after a night of drinking. Fashanu returned to England. He was never formally charged.
Just over a month later, on May 1998, Fashanu was found hanged in an abandoned east London garage. His suicide note read, "I realised that I had already been presumed guilty. I do not want to give any more embarrassment to my friends and family"..."I hope the Jesus I love welcomes me, I will at last find peace."
The Justin Fashanu All-stars
In March 2009, a team of all-star footballers was named after Fashanu by The Justin Campaign, an organization that promotes awareness and inclusion of gay players in football. The team is sponsored by by DJ Norman Cook, also known as Fatboy Slim.
Jason Hall from The Justin Campaign told BBC News, "We decided that the best thing to do was to have a campaigning football team so the football does the talking.
"Hopefully [we'll] change people's opinions of gay people on the pitch."
