English sportsman Justin Fashanu was BOTD in 1961. Born in London to a Nigerian-Guyanese family, his parents separated when he was a child. He was brought up in a care home and later by foster parents. A keen boxer, he briefly considered a professional career before switching to football. In 1981, he was signed by Nottingham Forest for an unprecedented £1 million fee. His career was frustrated by coach Brian Clough, who disapproved of Fashanu’s homosexuality, eventually barring him from team training. He later played for Notts County, Brighton & Hove Albion, Manchester City and West Ham United, punctuated with periods in the United States and Canada. In 1990, he publicly came out as gay. In interviews with the tabloid press, he claimed to affairs with an unnamed Conservative politician, fellow footballers and pop stars. A week later, Fashanu’s brother John gave an interview declaring Justin an “outcast” and denying most of his claims. Fashanu became the target of racist and homophobic abuse by colleagues and football fans, and his career went into decline, moving between second-tier football teams and short term management positions. In 1998, he was accused of sexual assault by a 17 year-old in the United States. He fled to England before he could be arrested and committed suicide a week later, aged 37. His suicide note stated that the sex had been consensual but he feared not getting a fair trial due to being gay. John later expressed regret for some of his earlier comments, though as late as 2012 claimed that Justin was not gay and merely “an attention seeker”. Journalist later revealed that John had paid Justin £75,000 not to come out. In 2009, the Justin Campaign was created in his honour to promote the inclusion of LGBT players in football. Fashanu remained the only openly gay professional footballer in England until 2022.