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Jakub Jankto, Czech Football Star Comes Out As Gay
The athlete shared he wants to “live his life in freedom.”
Jakub Janto, a professional football player best known for playing for Sparta Prague and for the Czech Republic national team, came out today as gay in a powerful video posted to his social media.
“Like everybody else, I have my strengths, I have my weaknesses. I have my family, I have my friends,” he began in the Twitter video. “I have a job, which I have been doing as best as I can for years with seriousness, professionalism, and passion.
“Like everybody else, I also want to live my life in freedom without fears, without prejudice, without violence, but with love. I am homosexual, and I no longer want to hide myself,” he continued.
The video ends with the caption: “This is not entertainment. The purpose of this video is to encourage others.”
The video is beautiful and powerful, and the comments are flooded with supportive messages from people showing solidarity with his choice to step out of the closet.
Jankto is following in the footsteps of queer athletes like Campbell Johnstone, Josh Cavallo, and Jake Daniels who have also helped pave the way for more athletes to feel safe coming out and sharing their full authentic queer lives with the world.
Congrats Jakub and welcome to the family!
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Rachel Shatto, Editor in Chief of PRIDE.com, is an SF Bay Area-based writer, podcaster, and former editor of Curve magazine, where she honed her passion for writing about social justice and sex (and their frequent intersection). Her work has appeared on Elite Daily, Tecca, and Joystiq, and she podcasts regularly about horror on the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network. She can’t live without cats, vintage style, video games, drag queens, or the Oxford comma.
Rachel Shatto, Editor in Chief of PRIDE.com, is an SF Bay Area-based writer, podcaster, and former editor of Curve magazine, where she honed her passion for writing about social justice and sex (and their frequent intersection). Her work has appeared on Elite Daily, Tecca, and Joystiq, and she podcasts regularly about horror on the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network. She can’t live without cats, vintage style, video games, drag queens, or the Oxford comma.
