Justin Fashinu
 Soccer

Son of a Nigerian barrister. When his parents split up he was sent, with his brother John, to a Barnado's home. When he was six he and his brother were fostered by Alf and Betty Jackson and was brought up in Attleborough, Norfolk. Justin Fashanu played in the England Youth and under 21 team and made his professional football debut at Norwich City in 1979. He became Britain's first one million pound black footballer when he transferred to Nottingham Forest in 1981.

Brian Clough, the Manager of Nottingham Forest, bought Justin Fashanu for one million pounds in 1980. At the time Justin Fashanu was in a heterosexual relationship but he was soon drawn to Nottingham's gay scene. When Brian Clough learned of Justin's gay leanings he suspended him. However, Justin still turned up for training, whereupon Brian Clough had the police escort him from the premises.

The manager of Notts County, Howard Wilkinson, took Justin on in 1982 but a wounded knee became poisoned and he never was quite as effective again.

In 1990 he came out as gay in the tabloid press.

An inquest in September 1998 found officially that Justin Fashanu died by his own hand, and that tragically he did so based on misinformation. He had left  the U.S., where he was developing a minor league soccer team in Maryland, after hearing a broadcast news report that he was wanted on a charge of molesting a minor -- but British police investigating after his May 2 death found that there was no warrant outstanding against him from any jurisdiction.

Fashanu's detailed suicide note said that the 17-year-old player he was accused of molesting in Maryland had had consensual sex with him and then attempted to extort money from him the next morning. It described Fashanu's voluntary statement to police, saying he had not been charged nor asked to surrender his passport, and that, "The first I heard that I was a fugitive was when I turned on the television news. I realised that I had already been presumed guilty. I do not want to give any more embarrassment to my family and friends." The sexual assault charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment, and Fashanu believed that his race and sexual orientation would bias any trial against him.

"Justin's death is a tragedy. He was a sincere, warm-hearted person who was destroyed by homophobia, Christian fundamentalism, and a lack of support from fellow football players and managers", according to Peter Tatchell of OutRage!, who knew Fashanu from the early 1980's.

      Tatchell recalls: "We met at the London gay nightclub 'Heaven' in 1982. I had been selected as the Labour candidate for Bermondsey, and he had recently transferred to Nottingham Forest for £1 million. We became close friends for the next ten years.

      "Even though he was not open about being gay in the early 1980's, we went out together to nightclubs, parties, family celebrations and public events where Justin was the guest of honour. He knew the press might be there. It was almost as if he was challenging the tabloids to expose him.

      "In the early 80's Justin often phoned me, and we frequently discussed the problems he was having at Nottingham Forest and his difficulties in coping with his homosexuality.

      "The pros and cons of coming out were a frequent subject of conversation. Although I helped him come to terms with being gay, it was only a temporary respite. When his football career went on the slide, he turned to evangelical Christianity. In the long-term, that caused him immense grief.

This page was last modified on 11 June 2005