New book to chronicle the life of Justin Fashanu

Journalist and author Nick Baker has written a book about the life of the late gay footballer Justin Fashanu.

Forbidden Forward: The Justin Fashanu Story will tell the story of the first professional footballer in the world to come out as gay, a move that earned him iconic repute.

With a foreword written by Robbie Rogers, the former Leeds United player who came out himself earlier this year, the book draws upon exclusive interviews and previously unseen documents and photographs and will reveal the truth behind his desperate suicide in 1998 and naming those who affected his downfall.

Nick Baker said:

“As you know, the battle against homophobia in football is still an ongoing fight today therefore Justin Fashanu’s story is still very relevant. I ended the book with a chapter called ‘Legacy of a Reluctant Hero’ which looks at how Fashanu continues to inspire gay sports people and others across the world today and what’s being done to combat homophobia in football right now.

“The reason why I wrote the book is because as a teenager I grew up in Nottingham and watched Justin Fashanu play for Nottingham Forest and Notts County in the early eighties. Curious about why the footballer’s life eventually fell apart so tragically, I decided to investigate his life. That curiosity led to this book.”

To order a copy of the book, CLICK HERE: