Identifying as LGBTQ+ in Professional Soccer: An Unwelcoming Atmosphere
“We've got mountains to do” - the athlete on homophobia in soccer
“You don't belong on this earth” ... “Why are you here?” ... “Stop breathing.”
After announcing his homosexuality in 2021, player the athlete has received daily death threats and hateful comments on online platforms.
“When I first saw these messages, it broke my heart,” Cavallo explains. “No-one wants to read things like that.
“I'm working to improve my skills and be the best I can be during matches, and then get put down because of who I am. It's appalling.”
Midfielder the sportsman was playing for Adelaide United four years ago when he emerged as the sole publicly out top-flight male professional footballer in the world.
Recently he departed from Australia to join non-league Peterborough Sports, who compete before audiences of about 400 in National League North, one level below of English football.
This young athlete combines playing for the semi-professional team by speaking up on LGBTQ+ issues and leveraging his platform - he has more than one million followers on social media - to champion equality and acceptance.
“Definitely, there's enormous work ahead,” the footballer comments when asked if football still has a problem with discrimination.
“I don't go more than a week without encountering problems.”
‘Individuals wish to hurt me’
Josh Cavallo grew up in Melbourne
It took years for Cavallo to work up the courage to say “I'm gay” before revealing his sexuality on October 27th, 2021.
“All I want to do is play football and receive fair treatment,” he said in an related clip.
Cavallo was 21 and making a name for himself at Adelaide United in the premier division when, backed by his colleagues, he publicly came out.
“The future was uncertain. I had no expectations,” he recalls. “The moment seemed appropriate in my life. I needed to move forward.”
His emotional coming out video, titled ‘His Personal Story’, gained massive attention on social media.
“My phone was flooded with encouraging words. The response was incredible.”
Liverpool were one of many high-profile clubs around the world to express support for Cavallo, with then manager the German manager saying: “I'm really thankful that he did it because now we talk again.”
Spanish player Gerard Pique also expressed backing, posting online that “soccer culture is lagging behind and you are helping us move forward”, while Adelaide United released a comment supporting their “extraordinary” and “courageous” player.
Others, however, were not so accepting.
Cavallo soon turned into a target of anti-gay remarks by opposition fans.
In January 2022 a competing team were penalized five thousand dollars over discriminatory chants from spectators directed at Cavallo during a match.
“The comments I encountered were hurtful and disparaging towards my community,” he explains.
“I remained calm because I knew that would only feed the haters.”
There was a frightening incident at a petrol station in Australia, where Cavallo was physically attacked by someone who recognised him from the media attention.
“It was terrifying,” he remembers. “The thought crossed my mind ‘this is happening - people want to harm me’.
“Is it acceptable? Absolutely not. But through my disclosure, these are the consequences.
“I hope that future individuals who reveals their orientation while competing in soccer at a high level doesn't have to experience the path I have endured.”
Cavallo says the daily death threats and abusive messages have affected his mental health.
“It's disappointing because I must justify why I deserve a place on the football field for my identity,” he states.
“We don't sit straight people down and ask ‘why should you exist in football?’.
“A lot of people see me as a cheerful, positive person. But there are days when I lean on my fiance, Leighton, and he witnesses a lot that happens behind the scenes.”
‘Top-tier athlete revealing orientation would create waves’
The player's choice to disclose his orientation helped inspire 17-year-old Blackpool forward another athlete to announce he was gay as the UK's only openly gay active male professional footballer in spring 2022.
However, there are no openly gay or bisexual players in the Premier League.
“It would create massive change,” says Cavallo on the effect a Premier League player revealing their orientation would make.
“But I must be honest. There are a lot of scary things that would come this person's way. Within soccer culture, being an openly gay player is a highly hostile environment.”
Over two decades after Justin Fashanu - the UK's initial out soccer professional - took his own life in 1998, the current athlete has spoken about the “toxic masculinity” that still exists in men's football.
“You just need to go to a match and observe the unfriendly atmosphere and male-dominated culture that the crowd brings,” he explains.
“Much remains to be done to ensure there is a safe space in football for people like myself and Jake.
“We haven't seen it (additional athletes revealing their orientation) as frequently as desired.
“I can only keep pushing for what I think is right, and strive for eliminating the harmful male norms in soccer locker rooms and establishing secure environments.”
‘My mission is to drive progress’
The athlete was awarded an honorary degree from an academic institution in Adelaide in 2022, recognising his contributions as a inspirational figure in sport and a champion for equality
Cavallo says football has allowed him to have conversations inside dressing rooms about coming out.
Yet, he is critical of soccer's global governing body, after Qatar, where homosexual partnerships are illegal, staged the global tournament in 2022.
Future World Cup is scheduled in another Gulf state, where homosexuality is similarly prohibited.
“Do I approve that the World Cup is in nations that criminalise same-sex marriages, where individuals like myself will be put in prison for just existing on that land? It's scary,” states the athlete.
“I receive communications [from residents of such nations] saying ‘I face imprisonment for my identity - can you help me?’.
“It's devastating that individuals are incarcerated for being who they are.
“Certain nations that are significant soccer markets and they don't accept LGBTQ+ people. These places that often focus on me.”
Nevertheless, Cavallo says he will not stop speaking up.
“Football has allowed me to start conversations in the locker room. It has allowed me to speak and inform individuals who want to learn more.
“Not everyone is going to like you for your identity. But I have found my family. I've connected with similar people.
“My mission is to drive progress. That's my objective.”