Former A-League player Andy Brennan, who came out as gay in 2019, reflects on the courage of Adelaide United’s Josh Cavallo in following suit, a move that caused worldwide headlines.
Josh Cavallo is 21. It is pretty incredible that someone so young can accept themselves and announce to the planet who they are.
Planet being the operative word, for the reaction to Josh announcing his sexuality has been incredible, drawing support from the biggest names in football and beyond. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Antoinne Griezmann, Raphael Varane, Gerard Pique, Marcus Rashford, Rio Ferdinand, Ricky Martin, Billie Jean King, Ellen Degeneres to name a few, in addition to Liverpool, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Manchester United and many more clubs around the world.
There is no way Josh could have predicted this reaction. I know how daunting it can be – I was 26 when I announced I was gay.
When I heard the news, it was a proud moment personally. I had spoken to Josh, as he reached out to me last January and said that my story was an inspiration to him. He asked me a few things about my story and I was delighted that he had the courage to reach out and open up.
My story is a reflection of the hard work a lot of people have done, such as ex NRL great Ian Roberts. And Josh’s also demonstrates the vital role of organisations such as Proud2Play.
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Hopefully Josh’s reaction ensures the next person is more comfortable coming out and it happens sooner and – eventually – we get to the point where it doesn’t need an announcement.
It was nice to see the way Adelaide United handled things. Presently it’s a big responsibility to take on announcement like that, and they used their platform to tell Josh’s story respectfully.
Josh is doing an incredible thing – he doesn’t need to be doing this. The response, for the main part, has been nothing short of incredible, one of a kind.
But going through some of the posts, especially overseas, there are some horrible comments. Josh won’t see and read things that are only nice, and that’s where he should be lauded for his courage, as it’s a huge burden for a 21-year-old.
Josh would have thought this through, so for him to see the bigger picture, hats off. Thus far, the Adelaide United players and everyone at the club has got around him.
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He will need ongoing support, because there is certainly a possibility that homophobia could rear its ugly head. How will people respond if it does?
In the US, the San Diego Loyal SC team walked off the field after a homophobic slur was aimed at Collin Martin from an opposing player.
That’s the kind of support we need, just like the movement standing up to another society scourge – racism.
I experienced it last year. In the middle of a training session, a teammate made a derogatory comment. Another teammate, ex Gold Coast United, Melbourne City and Newcastle Jets midfielder James Brown, picked up the ball, booted it onto another field and said: “You can’t say that. Don’t say that”.
That picked me up straight away and I felt proud of who I am as well as James and the people I was surrounded by. That kind of support will really change attitudes and enable people to come out earlier.
I hope Josh has a James Brown who will stand up for him, because he will be tested. He’s still young.
The sporting landscape is pretty toxic. You hear horrible things and it affects your mental health, the ingrained homophobia is part of the culture and it’s not right. People use throwaway comments, to them it doesn’t mean anything.
But to me and other people who are gay, it is hurtful. It takes you back to that young self when you were battling to accept yourself and who you are.
Drawing back on my experience, the biggest thing for Josh, I hope, is that he will feel a sense of freedom. It’s amazing how much I used to think about being gay, in the sense that I had this deep-down gut wrenching feeling of who I am and I can’t openly be that person.
To no longer have that, to go to training and have your teammates accept you for who they are, it’s such an amazing feeling.
Seeing Josh made me reflect on my journey.
I haven’t been thinking about it a lot lately, which is great. We’ve broken down barriers, I’ve just got to the position that I am who I am without needing to think about things, and I can be with someone I love without needing to hide.
I’ve worked with Proud2Play to make sport more inclusive and I’m proud of my work there. The reaction to Josh’s announcement has been phenomenal and shows the support that’s out there. While we want to get to a point where we don’t need that support, in the interim the coverage of these announcements is important to get to that point. It’s a weird paradigm.
Josh, you are an inspiration.
