An Australian soccer/football player has come out as gay. This makes him the first professional Australian player to do so.
26-year-old Brennan came out on May 14 through an Instagram post. In the post, found below, he wrote that it’s taken years to be comfortable with his sexuality.
“I was scared it would affect my friendships, my teammates, and my family,” he wrote. “But the support of the people around me has been so great and helped me to get to the final step; being completely open.”
The Green Gully player then made the rounds with media sources to share more about this coming out moment. Brennan spoke with the Herald Sun to talk more about feeling stressed over coming out.
“Since being at Gully especially, it’s always been on my mind that this person doesn’t know or that person does know, what will they think?” Brennan told the newspaper. “It’s just a complete mind overload, your mind’s battling yourself.”
Andy Brennan then explained why he felt the need to come out through an article with Professional Footballers Australia.
“For the people who may be wondering why I feel the need to come out publicly, I understand your view,” the athlete said. “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.”
He then added, “I’ve only become comfortable with it in the last year, which means for the best part of the last decade – most of my adult life – I’ve been pretty unsure of myself. In all honesty, that’s been pretty tough.”
To Brennan, the most important thing was to work towards a happier life for himself.
“It took me time to realize that I couldn’t keep living this lie; that I wanted to be happy with who I am,” Brennan shared. “At some point, you have to realize that that’s who you are and you’ve just gotta be who you are.”
He then stated that this moment was just about him and not about asking for the same from other closeted athletes.
“I’m not calling on anyone come out, either,” he said. “While I would applaud that, I think the biggest thing is, it should be done on your own personal terms. Everyone’s journey is different.” Though, the athlete later added, “If people see my story as an inspiration, a sign of how things can go, and end up telling even one person how they are feeling, that can make a world of difference. It’s better than bottling it up for as long I did.”
Now that he’s come out, Brennan states that he “couldn’t be happier.”
Sources: Herald Sun, Professional Footballers Australia, EdgeMediaNetwork
