Thu, Oct 28, 2021 page16

• Adelaide United’s Josh Cavallo comes out as gay in a first for the A-League

  • AFP, SYDNEY
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  Adelaide United midfielder Josh Cavallo yesterday revealed that he is gay, becoming the first openly homosexual soccer player to come out while still playing in Australia’s A-League.

  “I’m a footballer and I’m gay,” the 21-year-old declared on social media, prompting supportive comments from his team, the A-League and Football Australia.

  Cavallo, who has represented Australia at the under-20 level, said that he no longer wanted to keep his sexuality a secret.

  

  Adelaide United’s Josh Cavallo controls the ball against Sydney in their A-League match at the Leichhardt Oval in Sydney on April 18.

  Photo: EPA-EFE

  “All I want to do is play football and be treated equally,” he said.

  “Trying to perform at the best of your ability and to live this double life, it’s exhausting — it’s something I don’t want anyone to experience,” Cavallo added.

  Despite soccer’s immense popularity worldwide, only a few soccer players have come out as gay — mostly after they retire, to avoid the prospect of homophobic taunts from the spectators.

  The first professional player to come out while still playing was Britain’s Justin Fashanu in 1990, but he never found acceptance in the game and hanged himself in 1998.

  A charity set up by Fashanu’s family last year released a letter from an unnamed gay player in the English Premier League that highlighted how little soccer’s culture has changed.

  The player said that his situation was “an absolute nightmare.”

  “I feel trapped and my fear is that disclosing the truth about what I am will only make things worse,” Fashanu said in the letter.

  Cavallo said that Fashanu’s case had preyed on his mind as he considered whether to come out.

  “I remember reading about Justin Fashanu becoming the first male pro footballer to come out, in the 1990s, and then eight years later taking his own life — that did concern me,” he said.

  However, Cavallo described the support from the club, teammates and officials as “immense,” saying that he wanted to be a positive role model for gay soccer players.

  “It’s OK to be gay and play football — I want to show all the other people who are struggling and are scared,” he said.

  Monash University researcher Erik Denison praised Cavallo, saying that his coming out was a significant moment that could become a catalyst for eradicating homophobia in Australian sport.

  “Unfortunately, it is very rare for male players to come out to their teammates in both professional and amateur sport,” Denison said. “A significant reason why they are hesitant to come out is the constant use of homophobic language in male sport, which makes them feel unsafe and unwelcome.”
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