‘I have been fightg my sexualy’: A-League Men player Josh Cavallo out as gay | A-League Men | The Guardian

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• LEEDS UNED SEND CLASSY MSAGE AS JOSH CAVALLO BE ONLY OPENLY GAY MALE PRO FOOTBALLERCAVALLO BEME THE ONLY OPENLY GAY PROFSNAL PLAYER WORLD FOOTBALL TODAY AND LEEDS UNED HAVE SHOWN THEIR SUPPORTLEEDSLIVEBOOKMARKSHARECOMMENTSSPORTBYDANNY BLOOMER17:28, 27 OCT 2021BOOKMARKJOSH CAVALLO OF ALAI UNED. (IMAGE: AAP IMAGE)GET THE LATT LEEDS UNED NEWS LIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR BOX EACH DAY - SIGN UP FOR EE EMAIL UPDATMORE NEWSLETTERS SUBSCRIBEINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.MORE NEWSLETTERSWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!WE HAVE MORE NEWSLETTERSSHOW ME SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE&TIM;GROUP 28 GET THE LATT LEEDS UNED NEWS LIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR BOX EACH DAY - SIGN UP FOR EE EMAIL UPDATINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.SIGN UPNO THANKS, CLOSEWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE &TIM;GROUP 28THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!
• JOSH CAVALLO: A-LEAGUE PLAYER BE ONLY CURRENT OPENLY GAY MALE TOP-FLIGHT PRO FOOTBALLER
• ‘I HAVE BEEN FIGHTG MY SEXUALY’: A-LEAGUE MEN PLAYER JOSH CAVALLO OUT AS GAY
• JAKE DANIELS BE FIRST UK MALE FOOTBALLER TO E OUT AS GAY SCE 1990
• A-LEAGUE FOOTBALLER JOSH CAVALLO OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY: 'I'M TIRED OF THIS DOUBLE LIFE'
• GIANT MURAL ON NORWICH PUB HONOURS JT FASHANU, ENGLAND'S FIRST OPENLY GAY FOOTBALLER
• ONE OF THE ONLY GAY FOOTBALL BOSS HISTORY SAYS RAMPANT HOMOPHOBIA MEANS A PLAYER WON’T BE G OUT ANYTIME SOON
• RAIRS’ CARL NASSIB ANNOUNC HE’S GAY, AN N.F.L. FIRST
• THE PREMIER LEAGUE’S FIRST GAY FOOTBALLER
• THREE GAY FOOTBALL PLAYERS FEATURED NFL NETWORK SEGMENT ON CARL NASSIB
• AT LEAST 20 FOOTBALLERS PREMIER LEAGUE AND CHAMPNSHIP ARE GAY BUT THEY'RE AAID TO E OUT SAYS EX-CLUB BOSS
• 8 MALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DARED TO COME OUT AS GAY
• ROBBIE ROGERS: WHY G OUT AS GAY MEANT I HAD TO LEAVE FOOTBALL
• JAKE DANIELS: BLACKPOOL FORWARD BE UK'S FIRST ACTIVE MALE PROFSNAL FOOTBALLER TO E OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY
• JOSH CAVALLO BE ONE OF THE FEW PROFSNAL MEN'S FOOTBALLERS TO E OUT AS GAY

LEEDS UNED SEND CLASSY MSAGE AS JOSH CAVALLO BE ONLY OPENLY GAY MALE PRO FOOTBALLERCAVALLO BEME THE ONLY OPENLY GAY PROFSNAL PLAYER WORLD FOOTBALL TODAY AND LEEDS UNED HAVE SHOWN THEIR SUPPORTLEEDSLIVEBOOKMARKSHARECOMMENTSSPORTBYDANNY BLOOMER17:28, 27 OCT 2021BOOKMARKJOSH CAVALLO OF ALAI UNED. (IMAGE: AAP IMAGE)GET THE LATT LEEDS UNED NEWS LIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR BOX EACH DAY - SIGN UP FOR EE EMAIL UPDATMORE NEWSLETTERS SUBSCRIBEINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.MORE NEWSLETTERSWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!WE HAVE MORE NEWSLETTERSSHOW ME SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE&TIM;GROUP 28 GET THE LATT LEEDS UNED NEWS LIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR BOX EACH DAY - SIGN UP FOR EE EMAIL UPDATINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.SIGN UPNO THANKS, CLOSEWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE &TIM;GROUP 28THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!

Cavallo beme the only current openly gay profsnal footballer the world today after postg an open letter on his social media page. “It is astonishg to know there are currently no gay profsnal footballers who are out and actively playg, not only Atralia, but around the world. ” Former Leeds wger Robbie Rogers is one of the most high-profile openly gay football players, as he me out when he was retirg, although he did return to the profsnal game at LA Galaxy later his reer.

Alai Uned player Josh Cavallo has e out as gay, makg him the world's only current openly gay male top-flight profsnal footballer. "Growg up I always felt the need to hi myself bee I was ashamed - ashamed I would never be able to do what I loved and be gay. Former Aston Villa, Stuttgart, Wt Ham and Everton player Thomas Hzlsperger is among the most high-profile former players to be openly gay, havg e out publicly the year after he Leeds Uned player Robbie Rogers also announced he was gay when retirg 2013, before returng to the game wh LA Galaxy and wng the MLS Cup.

Cavallo said he worried g out might have a negative effect on his reer and add that, as a gay footballer, he knew of "other players livg silence". "It is astonishg to know that there are currently no gay profsnal footballers who are out and actively playg, not only Atralia, but around the world.

JOSH CAVALLO: A-LEAGUE PLAYER BE ONLY CURRENT OPENLY GAY MALE TOP-FLIGHT PRO FOOTBALLER

"Inspirg a future generatn Several top-flight footballers have e out once their playg reers were over, but Cavallo's announcement mak him the world's only current openly gay male top-flight profsnal said: "I hope one day I n spire someone om the younger generatn or someone else who may be stgglg. A-League Men midfielr Josh Cavallo says he knows there are other players “livg silence” after beg the only known current male top-flight profsnal footballer the world to e out as gay.

“Beg a gay closeted footballer, I’ve had to learn to mask my feelgs orr to f the mould of a profsnal footballer.

Labor senate lear and openly gay woman, Penny Wong, tweeted: “Any young person who is stgglg wh their inty, or feelg exclud or judged, n look today to Josh Cavallo. Amerin former Leeds player Robbie Rogers also announced he was gay on retirg 2013, before returng to the field wh LA Galaxy and wng the MLS Cup to bee the first openly gay male athlete to w a major profsnal team sports tle the Uned 2019, former Newstle Jets player Andy Brennan beme Atralia’s first profsnal male footballer to e out while still playg the game.

‘I HAVE BEEN FIGHTG MY SEXUALY’: A-LEAGUE MEN PLAYER JOSH CAVALLO OUT AS GAY

“It is astonishg to know that there are currently no gay profsnal footballers who are out and actively playg, not only Atralia, but around the world. The Blackpool forward Jake Daniels has end s of silence wh men’s football to bee the first player the UK to e out as gay sce Jt Fashanu 1990. Photograph: Pl Dennis/TGS Photo/ShutterstockDaniels’s revelatn is a strikg landmark that when men’s football is more engaged wh social issu than any recent time, but still unable to ce progrs LGBTQ reprentatn wh the year Alai Uned’s Josh Cavallo beme the only male top-flight profsnal footballer the world to e out as gay, but others are yet to follow.

JAKE DANIELS BE FIRST UK MALE FOOTBALLER TO E OUT AS GAY SCE 1990

In six months the men’s World Cup will be played Qatar, where homosexualy is illegal, and Cavallo revealed to the Guardian he would be “sred” to play at the tournament, the pnacle of world English football specifilly, the shadow of the talented and unfulfilled Fashanu still lgers over the game. The England ternatnal me out at the end of his reer and was to take his own life eight years later, Fashanu, Jt’s niece, who ns a charable foundatn his name, said that Daniels’s cisn would “e as a huge fort to the many footballers at all levels of the game still secretly livg as gay and who still feel unable to e out”. A-League midfielr Josh Cavallo has e out as gay, beg the only known current male top-flight profsnal footballer the world to be out.

"Cavallo is the first active gay profsnal footballer to e out Atralia's top-flight, sayg he was done wh feelg "ashamed" about his add: "I'm tired of tryg to perform at the bt of your abily and to live this double life, 's exhstg.

A-LEAGUE FOOTBALLER JOSH CAVALLO OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY: 'I'M TIRED OF THIS DOUBLE LIFE'

"Beg a gay closeted footballer, I've had to learn to mask my feelgs orr to f the mould of a profsnal footballer. "Few ele male footballers have e out as gay durg their Aston Villa, Wt Ham, and Everton player Thomas Hzlsperger waed until the year after he retired 2013 before g out Leeds Uned player Robbie Rogers me out while ially announcg his retirement Febary 2013 shortly after beg released, before returng wh LA Galaxy and wng the MLS Cup to bee the first openly gay male athlete to w a major profsnal team sports tle the Uned Brennan beme the first former A-League player to e out May 2019 when the ex-Newstle Jet was still playg a lower Mart, an out gay male profsnal footballer who plays for San Diego Loyal the USL, gave his support for Cavallo on social media. Cavallo said Thomas Beattie, a former youth player for English club Hull Cy who me out 2020, had been a "role mol" helpg him on his journey and hoped their example might help change thgs for other young gay men sport.

Two Premier League players are a uple and have e out as gay to their teammat, but not yet, reports suggt the Premier League footballers qutn uld e out a documentary currently productn wh Channel follows Gary Leker recently claimg he was aware of two Premier League players who were thkg of g out as gay soon. Image source, Andy Trigg/BBCImage ptn, The mural took the graffi artist eight hours to pleteA mural of Jt Fashanu, the first profsnal football player to e out as gay, has been pated on the si of a pub Norwich. Fashanu grew up Norfolk and signed for Norwich the late source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Former Norwich Cy striker Jt Fashanu me out as gay 1990 while still playg profsnal football"He means a lot to a lot of people, pecially Norfolk, " said Christian Hodgkson, landlord of the Fat Cat and Canary on Thorpe Road, close to the cy centre stadium.

GIANT MURAL ON NORWICH PUB HONOURS JT FASHANU, ENGLAND'S FIRST OPENLY GAY FOOTBALLER

A giant mural of England's first openly gay footballer has been unveiled on the si of a Fashanu remas the only male profsnal player to nfirm he was homosexual - amid fears he would be "outed" by a natnal newspaper 1990 - and was ducted to the footballg Hall of Fame spe now beg seen as an spiratn the fight agast homophobia and discrimatn sport, the proud Canary took his own life 1998 - wrg his suici note that beg gay and a personaly was "so hard" former Norwich Cy striker, who beme the UK's first black £1m player when he was sold to Nottgham Fort, ntu to be seen as a legend at the Norfolk Champnship "wonr strike" agast Liverpool at Carrow Road 1980 went on to w Match of the Day's goal of the season now his face has taken pri of place on the si of a Canari supporters pub. A mural of former Norwich Cy player Jt Fashanu, England's first openly gay footballer, has appeared on the Fat Cat and Canary. Gay former football boss David Haigh has said he don’t expect Premier League players to e out anytime soon bee they would still face “homophobia and abe”.

Durg that time, the team beme the first Stonewall Diversy champn for LGBT+ rights football and former player Robbie Rogers me out as gay.

ONE OF THE ONLY GAY FOOTBALL BOSS HISTORY SAYS RAMPANT HOMOPHOBIA MEANS A PLAYER WON’T BE G OUT ANYTIME SOON

“Robbie me out over 2012-13, and seven years on, the realy is there are still no openly gay major players the game and there is still a lot of homophobia and abe, ” Haigh told Goal. He ntued: “It rais visibily, but I don’t thk mak easier for anyone who is gay to walk to a football match and not get abed. Haigh said he don’t blame gay players for not g out, and said many might be worried about the impact on their reers and on their relatnships wh teammat.

In the wi-rangg terview, Haigh also said his cisn to make gay visibily a rnerstone of his time at Leeds ultimately harmed his reer.

RAIRS’ CARL NASSIB ANNOUNC HE’S GAY, AN N.F.L. FIRST

Haigh’s ments e jt weeks after Amal Fashanu, the niece of Bra’s first openly gay footballer Jt Fashanu, revealed that she is providg support to seven secretly gay profsnal footballers. Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Jt Fashanu was brought up by foster parents a village near Attleborough Norfolk and signed for Norwich Cy aged 17Exactly 30 years ago, footballer Jt Fashanu h the headl as the first profsnal player to e out as gay.

Growg up foster re Norfolk alongsi his footballer brother John, he had risen through Norwich Cy's youth majtic strike agast Liverpool 1980 was Match of the Day's Goal of the Season, cementg his legendary stat among Canari ptn, Jt Fashanu's subdued goal celebratn saw him raise his x fger before beg hugged by team-matThen, 1990, Fashanu stunned the football world when he told a newspaper he was gay. Welsh gby unn star Gareth Thomas me out 2009, and ex-footballers Thomas Beattie and Robbie Rogers went public about their sexualy after leavg the to be a gay footballer the ele leagu was still a "major issue", she said. "It's always been that powerful, secretive, dark world where there's no place for anyone weaker and a lot of people see if you're gay, you'd be weaker.

THE PREMIER LEAGUE’S FIRST GAY FOOTBALLER

"Focg on the absence of openly gay and bi male profsnal football players often adds more prsure to what is already a high-strs environment. FirstThe Rairs fensive leman me out a statement posted to his Instagram acunt on Monday, beg the first active player the league to publicly intify as gay. I actually hope that like one day vios like this and the whole g-out procs are jt not necsary, but until then I’m gog to do my bt and my part to cultivate a culture that’s acceptg, that’s passnate, ” before addg that he would donate $100, 000 to The Trevor Project, a nonprof group that foc on suici preventn efforts among lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer and qutng youth.

“Sports are, many ways, one of the last bastns of a place where homophobia n thrive, ” said Cathy Renna, a spokwoman for the Natnal L. ”Michael Sam, an all-Amerin fensive leman at Missouri, had been viewed as the most likely to acquire that distctn when he announced he is gay before he beg chosen by the Rams the seventh round of the 2014 N.

THREE GAY FOOTBALL PLAYERS FEATURED NFL NETWORK SEGMENT ON CARL NASSIB

The Dallas Cowboys signed Sam to their practice squad, but he never played a regular season Otero/Associated PrsSam’s draft stat was seen as a barometer of whether the climate of men’s pro sports was beg more acceptg of gay athlet, particularly bee Febary 2014 the N. Had jt bee the first of the four tradnal major Amerin men’s sports leagu to have an openly gay active player when Jason Colls joed the Sam left the N. He played for ne seasons wh the San Francis 49ers and four other teams the 1960s and 1970s, and has sce bee an activist and an ambassador for the Gay Gam, a quadrennial sportg Simmons was the send former player to announce that he was gay, dog so 1992 after his reer wh the Giants and Washgton Football Team had end.

”In recent years, the league has publicly supported Pri Month through promotnal efforts like changg official social media avatars to clu rabows and supportg the You Can Play Project, which provis rourc to enurage clivy youth sports, even as some players have ma rogatory statements about gay people wh ltle penalty or supported groups that oppose gay Wewerka for The New York TimIn 2013, Chris Culliver of the San Francis 49ers and Chris Clemons of the Seattle Seahawks ma offensive ments when asked about the prospect of havg a gay teammate. ”San Francis nng back Garrison Hearst apologized 2002 for g a slur and sayg he wouldn’t want a gay player as a teammate.

AT LEAST 20 FOOTBALLERS PREMIER LEAGUE AND CHAMPNSHIP ARE GAY BUT THEY'RE AAID TO E OUT SAYS EX-CLUB BOSS

His ment me after the former Mnota Vikgs player Esera Tuaolo publicly me out as gay that year after he had retired.

Players like Brendon Ayanbajo, who played wh the Baltimore Ravens, fend same-sex marriage and gay rights and supported Sam at the time.

8 MALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DARED TO COME OUT AS GAY

There’ve been lots of articl wrten about how difficult is for gay footballers to e out – pecially when they are still playg.

And let’s not jt pick on Arsenal and Tottenham fans, as there would doubtls be a small, but vol, moronic element at most football league grounds who uldn’t wa to be abive to a rival team player who had revealed that he was 1990 Jt Fashanu beme the first (and so far only) profsnal footballer to publicly reveal that he was gay. A month later he announced he was a statement, Rogers, 25, said that remag Brish football after clarg that you were gay was ‘impossible’ newspaper also reported at that time that at least eight profsnal footballers have revealed to lleagu that they are gay, but have refed to go public bee they fear a backlash om fans.

Agast this background, one n see why would take a brave and highly self-assured dividual to e out, pecially if he was playg at a high-profile club, like Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea, Liverpool, or Manchters Cy and mercially, the opportuni for any gay footballer g out while still playg at the top would be huge. Sure, the lik of David Beckham managed to ntue to play while takg advantage of numero mercial opportuni (and build ‘the brand’), but Beckham did so as a hetrosexual man, which surely mt be a whole lot, gay profsnal footballers the days don’t jt have to stggle wh the fact that they are likely to suffer unmercifully at the hands of fans if they me out, but they also appreciate that the media spotlight and mercial opportuni that any ‘outg’ would brg would doubtls make difficult to foc on the football – certaly the manner required the days to play at the hight level the Premier my view, therefore, is more likely that today’s gay profsnal footballers will e out after their playg days are over, and the smart on will have the opportuny to make as much money om their sexualy as they did playg the betiful game.

ROBBIE ROGERS: WHY G OUT AS GAY MEANT I HAD TO LEAVE FOOTBALL

“When I returned to football my sophomore year after g out was bee I knew that if I qu football was jt the begng of thgs I would qu or hold myself back om bee I was gay, ” Strer told Outsports.

“To fast forward to my last football game my senr year and have end wh ‘NFL 360’ there to clu me a story celebratg the first openly gay football player NFL history is still really unbelievable to me. EST, we see scen of Strer’s last game as a Matea Mtang, terspersed wh him speakg about beg gay football and what Nassib’s g out meant to him. Their experienc are universal, ways good and bad, for many LGBTQ people — Pick talkg about the pa om the ial rejectn by her mom; O’Callaghan discsg suicidal thoughts before beg rcued by a therapist; Rapoport’s touchg rellectn of g out to NFL Commissner Roger Gooll by approachg him at a Super Bowl event holdg her girliend’s hand and Gooll’s se upon seeg ; Saffold discsg growg up Black and gay on the South Si of Chigo “where there are rampant levels of homophobia” and Strer on how he ed to worry “about how bad my life might be after I me out.

“I thk 11- or 12-year-old kids playg football prr to Carl Nassib g out didn’t thk there uld be a gay football player, ” Rapoport said. 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.

JAKE DANIELS: BLACKPOOL FORWARD BE UK'S FIRST ACTIVE MALE PROFSNAL FOOTBALLER TO E OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY

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.

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

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. At least 20 footballers Premier League and Champnship are gay but they're aaid to e out says ex-club bossOpenly gay Leeds Uned director David Haigh says players nfid him - and he believ clubs uld benef mercially if stars e outDavid Haigh durg his time at Leeds UnedAt least 20 football stars are gay and “aaid” to e out, a top club’s ex-director claims.

He spoke out after Belgium fenr Carl Hoefkens told how he had played wh two Premier League footballers who were gay but publicly ‘ the closet’. Mr Haigh was openly gay wh board members and fans at Elland Road, and says many gay players nfid him as a rult. Dad-of-two Hoefkens, 39, who played for Stoke and Wt Brom om, told Belgian newspaper De Zondag: “I played alongsi three gay footballers, cludg one who was a genuely big name.