A Thetford Town FC player-manager shared his story in honor of Coming Out Day.
Two years ago, British athlete Matt Morton came to terms with his sexual orientation, according to Sky Sports. For Morton, who initially referred to himself as “a typical alpha-male footballer” who was “vain” and “combative,” coming out has had a calming effect to his life and personality. The big turning point was when Morton came out to his closest friend, a former member of the team, at the age of 30. At the time, the friend didn’t know if Morton was joking or not.
“I can’t repeat his exact words, but it was something like ‘are you winding me up?’,” recalls Morton. “You can imagine living with someone for a long period of time, playing football with them, they’re your best mate, they’re like family and you had no inkling. It was a bit of a shock for him.”
But for Morton, himself, the reveal was a surprise. He says that meeting an irresistible man in 2018 led to his discovery.
“It felt very surreal to me, but at the same time it felt very natural,” he recalled.
That said, it’s not like Morton was celibate for the first 30 years of his life. He’d had plenty of relationships with women, but none of them had left a lasting impression on him. Because of that, he considered other parts of his life, like sports, to be more important than romance.
So why did he decide to come out? Because he felt it was the right thing to do. Though, he took many steps to let different people into this fact of his life. First it was his personal assistant, then his close friends, then his siblings, then his parents, then his teammates, his Instagram followers last summer, and finally news publications.
Now, Morton hopes that he can be an example that gay men come from all walks of life and act many different ways. And he says his aggressive personality has also benefited from sharing his truth with the world.
“The thing I’ve noticed now that I’m a lot more tolerant of certain things than I was prior to coming to this realization. That was never a conscious decision because I didn’t know I was gay. But subconsciously, there must have been an underlying factor that would cause me to react.”
“There’s something in that, for sure. Ultimately, I’m happier now than ever before.”
Source: Sky Sports,
