When an athlete gets elected to their sport’s hall of fame posthumously, it always feels bittersweet and is usually accompanied by remarks like, “It’s a shame this couldn’t be done while he was alive to enjoy it.”

That particular sentiment is especially poignant and also extremely complicated in the case of the late British soccer star Justin Fashanu, who will be inducted into the National Football Museum’s Hall of Fame today in Manchester, England.

Fashanu is mostly remembered for becoming Great Britain’s first (and still only) male professional soccer player to come out as gay while still active in the sport, doing so in an interview with English tabloid The Sun in October of 1990. However, his sexuality was known within the game for most of his career.

His recognition by the Hall of Fame is evidence that the sport wants to recognize his role as a barrier breaker for the LGBTQ community in a league that has a longstanding problem with homophobia in many forms. Read more via Outsports