Former Newcastle Jets player Andy Brennan has described the support he has received since coming out earlier this summer as overwhelmingly positive.
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Brennan promotes the positive atmosphere he has experienced since revealing his sexuality on Instagram.
“I haven’t had one negative comment. That was something I feared a lot with everyone I told, but everyone – team-mates, family, friends – has been amazing.”
Brennan’s story of support and positive messages chimes with many gay sportsmen and women such as Tom Daley who have remarked upon the feeling of liberation after coming.
Now currently playing for the Melbourne-based Football club Green Gully, Andy Brennan is one of only a handful of openly gay men playing professionally for the sport. This lack of openness and diversity directly contrasts the LGBT+ demographics within the 2019 Women’s World Cup, in which there were 38 openly LGBT+ players involved.
Andy Brennan’s testimony comes after the Twitter saga of the anonymous Championship Player who created the account @FootballerGay, which was subsequently deleted by the account holder on the week in which he was due to reveal himself. The legitimacy of these claims is uncertain, however, Brennan remarks upon the positive dialogue that the speculation surrounding the story opened up.
“The positive energy it created with all the supportive reactions from people was more important than anything negative, and that’s what you have to focus on – otherwise you let the negativity win.”
Following his coming out announcement, Brennan described how it felt for him in an essay published by Professional Footballers Australia.
“I’m gay. It’s incredible saying that now; it feels amazing. And weirdly, it doesn’t feel like a big deal. Really in 2019, it shouldn’t be.”
Despite the remarkably supportive reaction Brennan received, there still clearly is some way to go for full LGBT+ equality within the men’s sport, considering the scarcity of out LGBT+ players. Stories such as Brennan’s and the positive discourse amplified by queer sportsmen and women are hopefully promoting an increasingly welcoming and diverse narrative for the world of sport.
“For people wondering why it is important for me to share this – the reality is, is that no straight person has to ever question how those around them might respond to their sexuality,” Brennan wrote.
“Being gay, in sport, and in the closet, it has been a mental burden of not knowing how those around you will react. It was a perceived pressure that consumed me. For so long, I wasn’t sure about myself and I certainly wasn’t comfortable talking about how I felt.”
© 2019 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
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