Australian footballer Josh Cavallo revealed his homosexuality on Wednesday, becoming the first active Australian Championship (A-League) player to do so. “I am a soccer player and I am gay “, said on social media Cavallo, 21, player of Adelaide United (Australian D1).
“All I want is to play football and be treated fairly”, explained the former Australian Under-21s international. “Trying to play to the best of your ability and living a double life is exhausting, it’s an experience I don’t wish on anyone”, he admitted.
– Josh Cavallo (@JoshuaCavallo) October 27, 2021
Few professional footballers have publicly declared themselves as gay and usually do so after quitting to avoid homophobic remarks from spectators. The first to do so was Englishman Justin Fashanu in the 1990s, but he committed suicide in 1998 after quitting playing and while living in the United States.
A charity created by his family released a letter from an anonymous Premier League player last year denouncing the lack of progress in football on this subject. This player qualified his situation “absolute nightmare”, adding that he “felt trapped, the fear of telling the truth about who I am only making things worse”.
Cavallo himself indicated that Fashanu’s case was on his mind as he considered the possibility of revealing his homosexuality. “I remember reading about Justin Fashanu as the first professional footballer to reveal his homosexuality in the 1990s and his suicide eight years later and it got me thinking.”, he said.
– Josh Cavallo (@JoshuaCavallo) October 27, 2021
He qualified “immense” the support he received from his club, Adelaide United, his teammates and Australian football officials and said he wanted to be an example to other gay players.
Last June, Las Vegas Raiders player Carl Nassib became the first active NFL player to reveal his homosexuality in a reputedly very conservative league. “I’ve wanted to do this for a while now, but I finally feel comfortable saying it. I’m a pretty private person, so I hope you know I’m not doing this for attention. just think representation and visibility (of the gay community, editor’s note) is so important. I actually hope that someday videos like this and all the rest of the process isn’t needed, but from here there I will do my best and my part to cultivate a culture of acceptance and compassion […]“, explained the 28-year-old.