Professional soccer player Jakub Jankto
has come out as gay.
Jankto, 27, made the announcement in a
video posted on social media.
“Hi, I’m Jakub Jankto,” he said
in the 44-second video. “Like everybody else, I have my strengths.
I have my weaknesses. I have a family. I have my friends. I have a
job which I have been doing it 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
added.
According to LGBTQ sports blog
Outsports, Jankto currently plays for Madrid-based Getafe and
was on loan to Sparta Prague in his home country of the Czech
Republic in 2022.
With the announcement, Jankto, a
midfielder, becomes the first active senior international men's
professional soccer player to come out as gay.