by Czech soccer player Jakub Jankto decided to come out of the closet and reveal to the world that he was gay. Through In a statement that he published last February, he assured that he felt free after having revealed something that he had been hiding since he was a child.
Now, the Sparta Prague player spoke with Brand and he told details of how he had decided to take the decision and what happened in the dressing room when he told his teammates and his technical director that he was homosexual.
The first thing he recognized is that he felt supported in the Czech Republic, his country of origin. Likewise, he said that he felt the same in Spain and Italy, countries where he played for Getafe, Sampdoria and Udinese.
“It was a hard three weeks, especially the first one, because I didn’t know what to expect. But the reactions were perfect in the Czech Republic, Spain, Italy (…) Surely that helps you a lot to continue, to live and to be focused on football, which is what comes first for me”, Jankto said to the Spanish newspaper.
In addition, He noted that his family was the first to know, adding that his teammates and coach had his back throughout.
“Last year, my parents and my ex-wife were the first to find out. A few months ago I told the players and the coach and we talked about what to do and how to continue. They told me there was no problem and that helps a lot, but I felt there was something between us, something I can’t exactly describe, so I decided to tell everyone. When you’re the first player it’s a bit weird, but it’s all good.” added.
Regarding his ex-wife, the soccer player revealed that everything was a surprise for her, but that she has received great help from him to be able to control the situation with his son, whom, according to him, his decision was hard.
“I was surprised. When you say this after 26 years it is not expected. Thank God, I have passed that time and they have helped me in all aspects. The only thing that was a bit difficult was our son, but thanks to her we have reached an agreement and we do everything for our son.”indicated the soccer player in the information collected by the Besoccer.com portal.
The Czech player considers that he feels that he can be taken as an example for young people who do not know how to deal with this situation and who, out of fear, do not trust their relatives or close people to say that they are homosexual.
“When it is the first case in football you have to expect that certain reactions are not positive, but I wanted to feel free. I want to live like all people live. I have done this because I want to help other people who have a different orientation. I think I can be a good example (…) It was at the moment when I felt it. I haven’t been thinking about him all my life coming out (come out of the closet). I have played normally for eight years. I don’t know what happened, but there are certain things you want to say. You want to live how you want to live. I said it at the moment that I felt it that way ”, The athlete said that, in addition, he indicated that he had realized that “something was not going” when he was 14 or 15 years old.
Finally, he said that his decision allowed him to feel free and that he considers himself lucky for how his revelation was taken and put on the table the difficult conditions faced by the homosexual community in countries like Qatar and in regions like Africa or Asia.
