Justin Fashanu
Between 1978 and 1997, English footballer Justinus Soni "Justin" Fashanu played for a number of teams. He was openly homosexual when he came out publicly later in his career, making him the first professional footballer to do so. His early teams were aware of his sexual orientation. When he moved from Norwich City to Nottingham Forest in 1981, he became one of the first football players to fetch a £1 million transfer price. From then on until his retirement in 1997, he enjoyed varied degrees of success as a player.
He was questioned by authorities in 1998 after immigrating to the US when a seventeen-year-old kid accused him of sexual assault. On April 3, 1998, he was accused and a warrant was issued for his arrest in Howard County, Maryland, but he had already left his apartment. According to his suicide note, he went to England and committed suicide in London in May 1998 out of worry that he wouldn't receive a fair trial due to his sexual orientation. The intercourse was consented to, according to his suicide note. Fashanu entered the National Football Museum Hall of Fame in 2020. The Justin Fashanu Foundation was founded in his honor by his niece with the intention of eliminating prejudice in the football industry.
Detailed information:
Full name: Justinus Soni Fashanu
Date of birth: 19 February 1961
Date of death: 2 May 1998
Known for:
- Winning the BBC Goal of the Season award
- Appearing in a total of 103 senior games for Liverpool
