“We've got mountains to do” - Cavallo on anti-gay prejudice in football
“You don't belong on this earth” ... “What are you doing here?” ... “Stop breathing.”
After announcing he was gay in 2021, player Josh Cavallo has faced constant threats and hateful comments on online platforms.
“When I first saw these messages, I was devastated,” the player explains. “Nobody should have to endure such words.
“I'm working to improve my skills and be the best I can be during matches, and then get put down due to my identity. It's appalling.”
Player Cavallo was playing for Adelaide United four years ago when he emerged as the sole publicly out elite soccer player in the world.
Recently he departed from Australia to join lower-tier club Peterborough Sports, who compete before audiences of about 400 in National League North, the sixth tier of English football.
This young athlete combines playing for the semi-professional team by speaking up on LGBTQ+ issues and using his profile - boasting over a million followers on social media - to promote fairness and acceptance.
“Absolutely, we've got mountains to do,” the footballer comments when asked if football still has a problem with homophobia.
“I don't go more than a week without encountering problems.”
‘People want to harm me’
The player was raised in Melbourne
Several years passed for the athlete to build up the bravery to say “I'm gay” before revealing his sexuality on 27 October 2021.
“All I want to do is compete in soccer and receive fair treatment,” he stated in an accompanying video.
The player was twenty-one and building his reputation at his Australian club in Australia's top flight when, with the support of his team-mates, he announced his orientation publicly.
“The future was uncertain. I had no expectations,” he recalls. “It felt like the right time in my life. I needed to move forward.”
His emotional coming out video, titled ‘His Personal Story’, gained massive attention on digital platforms.
“My phone was flooded with encouraging words. The response was incredible.”
Liverpool were among numerous famous teams around the world to show solidarity with the player, with the coach at the time Jurgen Klopp saying: “I appreciate that he did it because now we talk again.”
Spanish player the athlete also offered support, posting online that “soccer culture is lagging behind and you are helping us move forward”, while his former club released a comment backing their “remarkable” and “brave” player.
Some people, however, were less welcoming.
The footballer soon turned into a target of anti-gay remarks by rival supporters.
In January 2022 a competing team were fined A$5,000 over discriminatory chants from spectators directed at the player during a match.
“The comments I encountered were hurtful and disparaging towards LGBTQ people,” he explains.
“I didn't react because responding would encourage detractors.”
A scary event occurred at a petrol station in Australia, where Cavallo was assaulted by someone who recognised him from the coverage.
“It was terrifying,” he recalls. “The thought crossed my mind ‘this is real - people want to harm me’.
“Should this be tolerated? Definitely not. But by coming out, these are the consequences.
“I hope that future individuals who comes out while competing in soccer at a professional standard won't face the journey I have endured.”
Cavallo says the constant menacing messages and abusive messages have affected his mental health.
“It's quite sad because I must justify why I belong 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 smiling, positive person. But sometimes when I rely on my partner, Leighton, and he gets to see much of what occurs privately.”
‘Premier League player coming out would move mountains’
Cavallo's decision to disclose his orientation helped inspire teenage Blackpool forward Jake Daniels to come out as the Britain's sole publicly out playing soccer professional in May 2022.
However, there are zero publicly LGBTQ athletes in the Premier League.
“It would create massive change,” says Cavallo on the impact a elite athlete 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, identifying as LGBTQ is a very toxic place.”
Twenty-seven years after a pioneering player - the UK's initial out soccer professional - died by suicide in 1998, Cavallo has spoken about the “toxic masculinity” that still exists in professional soccer.
“You just need to go to a game and see the unfriendly atmosphere and masculinity that the crowd brings,” he says.
“Much remains to be done to make sure there is a secure environment in soccer for individuals like me and Jake.
“Progress has been limited (additional athletes revealing their orientation) as frequently as desired.
“I can only keep pushing for principles I believe in, and work towards taking out the harmful male norms in soccer locker rooms and establishing secure environments.”
‘I'm here to create change’
Cavallo received an honorary doctorate from Flinders University in Adelaide in 2022, honoring his efforts as a inspirational figure in sport and a advocate for fairness
The player says soccer has allowed him to have conversations inside dressing rooms about revealing one's orientation.
Yet, he is disapproving toward Fifa, after the Middle Eastern nation, where homosexual partnerships are illegal, staged the global tournament in 2022.
The 2034 tournament will be held in another Gulf state, where same-sex attraction is similarly prohibited.
“Am I impressed that the World Cup is in countries that ban gay unions, where people like me will be put in prison for merely living on that land? It's scary,” states the athlete.
“I receive communications [from people living in these countries] saying ‘I'm about to be put in prison for my identity - can you help me?’.
“It's devastating that people are getting locked up for being who they are.
“There are countries that are huge in terms of football and they reject LGBTQ+ people. These places that often focus on me.”
Nevertheless, the footballer says he won't cease advocating.
“Football has allowed me to start conversations in the changing 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've discovered support. I have found my community.
“My mission is to create change. That's what I'm here for.”
