My hidn journey: A profsnal soccer player reveals he is gay - ESPN

Contents:

• COLL MART IS U.S. SOCCER'S ONLY OPENLY GAY MALE PLAYER, AND HE'S WORKG TO MAKE THE GAME MORE CLIVE FOR FUTURE LGBTQ+ PLAYERS
• 17-YEAR-OLD SOCCER PLAYER OUT, BEG THE UK'S ONLY OPENLY GAY PROFSNAL FOOTBALLER
• 8 MALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DARED TO COME OUT AS GAY
• MY HIDN JOURNEY: A PROFSNAL SOCCER PLAYER REVEALS HE IS GAY
• 20 INSPIRG GAY AND LBIAN FOOTBALL (SOCCER) PLAYERS
• THIS GUY SAYS HE’S TALKED TO 20 GAY PRO SOCCER PLAYERS. ABOUT 11 PEOPLE BELIEVE HIM.
• EACH OF AMERI’S BIG 5 SPORTS CURRENTLY HAS AN OUT GAY MAN THE PROS. THAT’S NEVER HAPPENED
• JOSH CAVALLO BE WORLD’S ONLY OPENLY GAY PROFSNAL SOCCER PLAYER
• JOSH CAVALLO BE ONE OF THE FEW PROFSNAL MEN'S FOOTBALLERS TO E OUT AS GAY
• WHY THERE ARE FEW OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN'S PROFSNAL SPORTS
• JOSH CAVALLO: ONLY OPENLY GAY TOP-FLIGHT MALE FOOTBALLER SAYS FIFA’S ‘ONELOVE’ ARMBAND BAN HAS MA HIM FEEL ‘EXCLUD’
• KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY

COLL MART IS U.S. SOCCER'S ONLY OPENLY GAY MALE PLAYER, AND HE'S WORKG TO MAKE THE GAME MORE CLIVE FOR FUTURE LGBTQ+ PLAYERS

As the World Cup go on a untry where homosexualy is illegal, many global football fans are havg to reckon wh the sports' soccer remas one of the most popular sports around the world, very few players have been able to e out and enjoy a succsful reer afterwards. Gay players face prsure om teammat, ownership, ach, and fans over their are some of the men who have e out, fightg those stereotyp, and pavg the way for LGBTQ+ athlet who e after them. He me out 2011, and won the seventh season of Swedish realy show Let's Dance, beg the first out gay person to w.

In 2014, he beme Bra's hight-profile out, gay player, and was the first out, gay male player to play at Wembley. Rogers me out as gay 2013, beg the first out gay man to pete a top North Amerin pro sports league when he played for the LA Galaxy that same year. Moments earlier, an opposg player targeted Mart, an openly gay man, wh a homophobic slur, and as they gathered unr a tent at halftime, they discsed how to team was agreement: Somethg need to be done.

17-YEAR-OLD SOCCER PLAYER OUT, BEG THE UK'S ONLY OPENLY GAY PROFSNAL FOOTBALLER

"Beg able to have a posive msage e out of a really tough suatn was the silver lg, " he the only openly gay men's profsnal soccer player the Uned Stat -- and one of the few who have ever e out globally -- Mart has e to embrace the signifince of what he reprents, pecially for the LGBTQ+ muny. Play1:48Coll Mart: Locker room support was all I needSan Diego Loyal midfielr Coll Mart says the support om his old teammat at Mnota Uned was a big help to him when he me out as gay. Around those years, havg to hi, havg to remd myself that like, 'Oh, my bt iend on the team, who jt lled another person a f----t, he isn't really homophobic, but he is jt tryg to be hurtful to that person.

"Mart is not unique that he didn't have ach who were willg to step to put an end to homophobic language when was ed.

Atralian A-League soccer star Josh Cavallo me out as gay an October vio posted to his social media, beg hailed as the first current male top-flight profsnal soccer player to publicly do so. "He ntued: "Growg up I always felt the need to hi myself, you know, bee I was ashamed, and ashamed I'll never be able to do what I love and be gay. In a September terview wh USA Today, 25-year-old mor league baseball player beme the only active baseball profsnal to be out as gay!

8 MALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DARED TO COME OUT AS GAY

Natnal Hockey League prospect Le Prokop me out as gay July, the first active player the league to e out. The 28-year-old Natnal Football League player and Rairs fensive leman ma history when he me out as gay on Instagram durg Pri Month, beg the first veteran NFL player to e out as gay while signed to a regular-season ntract.

MY HIDN JOURNEY: A PROFSNAL SOCCER PLAYER REVEALS HE IS GAY

The Bachelor star and former football player (who was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted ee agent and was on the practice squad of the Oakland Rairs and the Philalphia Eagl) me out as gay April, sayg he had fally e to terms wh his sexualy and the "next step all of this was sort of lettg people know. Hiltz had prevly e out as gay while llege and has been a visible and affirmg prence for gay athlet the past. Corey Walsh, the 27-year-old pro BMX rir and Vans spokperson, said he isn't normally the type of person to "let people " on his personal life, but felt was important to e out as gay a March Instagram post bee "there are a lot of people still stgglg wh the same suatns" and he "jt wanted to let people know that they are not alone.

Champn long track speedskater Conor McDermott-Mostowy never hid beg gay om his fay, iends, and fellow athlet, but he also wasn't one to rate his locker wh rabow Pri flags eher.

20 INSPIRG GAY AND LBIAN FOOTBALL (SOCCER) PLAYERS

He ially feared negative stereotyp about gay male athlet but threw those ncerns asi after his two-tle performance at the U. Jake Daniels, a forward for England's Blackpool Football Club, me out as gay on Monday, beg the UK's only active profsnal soccer player and first to e out 30 years.

THIS GUY SAYS HE’S TALKED TO 20 GAY PRO SOCCER PLAYERS. ABOUT 11 PEOPLE BELIEVE HIM.

Fashanu died 1998 aged year, the fensive end Carl Nassib me out as gay, beg the first openly gay man to actively play the NFL. But tak guts to e out and reveal one’s genr as gay, which is ually an act of urage a world that is not ndned to accept every genr.

Even though has already been three s sce Jt Fashanu first publicly me out as gay, there are only a few of them revealg . The primary reason behd many gay footballers not revealg their sexualy publicly is fear of homophobia on and off the pch.

So, many profsnal leagu, teams, and players are raisg their voic to fight back agast homophobia so that gay footballers don’t face backlash while g out.

EACH OF AMERI’S BIG 5 SPORTS CURRENTLY HAS AN OUT GAY MAN THE PROS. THAT’S NEVER HAPPENED

In 2020, durg the San Diego Loyal match agast Phoneix Risg FC, Mart released a story of homophobic sults directed toward him. One of the hight-profile male football players publicly clarg himself as gay is German footballer Thomas Hzlsperger.

JOSH CAVALLO BE WORLD’S ONLY OPENLY GAY PROFSNAL SOCCER PLAYER

Anton Hysen is the youngt son of retired Swedish footballer Glenn Hysen and one of the gay players football. Later, he was profiled on Swedish broadstg channel TV4 March 2011 a bate show (Can gays play football too?

Likewise, he also participated the 7th edn of the realy TV show Lets Dance and beme the first-ever gay to w the ntt.

JOSH CAVALLO BE ONE OF THE FEW PROFSNAL MEN'S FOOTBALLERS TO E OUT AS GAY

Later, on 22nd October 1990, The Sun Tabloid newspaper published the headle “£1m Football Star: I AM GAY”.

Likewise, The Jt Fashanu All-stars football special event started Brighton to honor him and promote homosexualy football.

In June 2020, former profsnal footballer Tomas Beattie me out as gay durg an Amerin sports channel ESPN terview. Furthermore, he is one of the send Brish football players to publicly e out as gay after Jt Fashanu did 30 years ago. Therefore, a suable environment should be created through tn as a drivg factor, so gay footballers don’t feel prsured to reveal their sexualy.

WHY THERE ARE FEW OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN'S PROFSNAL SPORTS

German midfielr Thomas Hzlsperger, the only known gay man to play the Premier League, me out 2014, the year after he gay and havg a reer football never felt like an optn. Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, is gay, and the thgs are all football, there's still fear a gay teammate might dispt the team environment. The more I uld stay awake, the more I uld put off addrsg how I really a sophomore I was named the program's first-ever first-team All-Amerin.

The Football Feratn l have been updated to clu gay and lbian players on the field alongsi straight players. However, this suatn has sparked a long-nng bate about the acceptance and ndong of gays and lbians football. Fashanu ma headl October 1990 when he me out as gay to the public, beg the first profsnal soccer player to do so.

There are some players on the list who a rear would expect to see bee they are well-known the world of lbianism and gays.

JOSH CAVALLO: ONLY OPENLY GAY TOP-FLIGHT MALE FOOTBALLER SAYS FIFA’S ‘ONELOVE’ ARMBAND BAN HAS MA HIM FEEL ‘EXCLUD’

He me out while playg for Leeds Uned 2013, 23 years after Jt Fashanu took the first step for gay soccer players around the world. Daniels ma headl May 2022 when he beme the send profsnal English soccer player to publicly e out as gay, 32 years after Jt Fashanu boldly claimed the tle.

Many high-profile English people praised him after he me out as gay, cludg Prce Harry, then-Prime Mister Boris Johnson, and England natnal team pta Harry Kane. Not only is this Atralian pro the only openly gay player the 2022 World Cup, but he’s also GQ’s 2022 Sportsman of the Year. This is where Matt Pacifici beme known through his Instagram announcement, a former Major League Soccer player who has e out publicly as gay an Instagram post troducg the world to his boyiend.

KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY

When he me out on Instagram January 2019, he beme the fifth openly gay current or former Major League Soccer player.

In June 2018, he me out as gay, makg him the only openly gay player any of the big five Amerin sports leagu or any top-tier profsnal men’s natnal soccer league.

Mart, 26, announced the news on Twter, statg that he had been openly gay to his iends and fay for years, but never on such a large sle.