Fans cheered professional soccer player Jakub Jankto as he walked on the field in his first match since coming out last week.
Jankto, who played for Sparta Prague in the game against Czech team Jablonec, had spent several weeks leading up to the match recovering from injuries, The Mirror reported.
He walked onto the field as the match entered its final 20 minutes, with Jankto’s team leading Jablonec 2-0. The crowd “largely cheered him,” the Mirror reported. Barely a minute later, he helped his team score a goal securing their eventual 3-0 victory, Outsports noted.
After notching the goal, Jankto jumped into the arms of the goal-scorer Lukáš Haraslín, Outsports added, celebrating their shared joy as teammates.
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“For me, the strongest moment in my career. A minute I will never forget,” the 27-year-old midfielder later recounted on Twitter. “3 points, great atmosphere. Thank you to all the people at the stadium! We keep pushing.”
Pro m? nejsiln?jší moment v karié?e. Minuta na kterou nikdy nezapomenu. ??
3 body, super atmosféra. D?kuji všem lidem na stadionu! Makáme dál. ??@ACSparta_CZ pic.twitter.com/iiLeWdOlQ4
— Jakub Jankto (@jakubjanktojr) February 20, 2023
Sparta team manager Brian Priske said he was confident that Jankto would get a good reception from his team’s fans.
“We have a lot of great fans and I want to focus on those who support us rather than anything negative happening,” Priske told the publication Blesk. “There are enough good people in the [team] who will know how to behave if something negative should happen.”
When Jankto came out last week in an emotional video, he proudly declared, “I am homosexual and I no longer want to hide myself. Like everyone else, I want to live my life with freedom, without fear, without violence, without prejudice, but with love.”
“Like everybody else, I have my strengths, I have my weaknesses, I have my family, I have my friends,” he added. “I have a job which I have been doing it as best as I can, for years, with seriousness, professionalism and passion.”
Related: White Sox minor league player Anderson Comas comes out: “I’m gay and I’m a professional athlete”
His video received the full support of his team. Sparta Prague retweeted his video from its official Twitter account and mentioned that Jankto had previously come out to the team, coach, and management a while ago.
“Everything else is his personal life. No further comments. No more questions. You have our support,” the team wrote. “Live your life, Jakub.”
Priske noted, “As a person, I felt pleased and proud that Jakub saw in me a person he could confide in. That he knows he is in a safe environment.”
FIFA, the governing body for international pro-soccer, also noted Jankto’s coming out, writing via Twitter, “We’re all with you, Jakub. Football is for everyone,” and adding a heart and rainbow flag emoji.
We're all with you, Jakub. Football is for everyone ??????
— FIFA (@FIFAcom) February 13, 2023
Brazilian pro soccer player Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior also noted the significance of Jankto coming out. “It’s an important day,” he said, according to Get Football News. “Everyone is free, there should be less prejudice, whether that’s homophobia, racism, or any kind of discrimination. Every human being should be free to do as they want.”
Jankto is now one of four out international professional soccer players on the world stage.
bachy
His statement is brilliant. Everyone should read it.
Celtic
It is refreshing to hear Jankto describe himself as a “homosexual”. That is what and who we are. Gay and queer are over-used. Some day, long after I am gone since I am an aging homosexual, this no longer will be an issue. All three of the major religions have been cruel and punishing toward homosexuals throughout history. It is long past the time to stop it. We are who we are, and we should be allowed to live as we were created — yes, created.