Gay Footballer Gets Death Threats in Australia

[+ Lucky]

By Sam Joseph  (The Athletic)

March 18, 2025Updated 4:05 am PDT

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Australia’s first openly gay male footballer Josh Cavallo says he receives multiple death threats on a daily basis and described the sport as being a “very toxic place” for those who have come out.

Cavallo publicly came out as gay in October 2021, becoming the only openly gay male top-flight professional player at the time, something that he describes as “the best move and decision I’ve ever made.”

The 25-year-old Adelaide United defender said that he still regularly receives negativity and threats, three and a half years after first discussing his sexuality publicly.

“There’s multiple, multiple, multiple death threats that come my way daily still and it’s quite sad to see,” he told FIFPRO’s Footballers Unfiltered podcast.

Cavallo received messages of support from multiple people in the sport after he came out in 2021, including the then Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford, currently on loan at Aston Villa.

However, he has encountered homophobia too, and in January 2022 was forced to call out homophobic abuse directed towards him during an A-League game.

“In the world of football, being an openly gay player is a very toxic place,” he said. “It’s something that not everyone would be able to handle and go through. I still think we’re a very, very long way from there being acceptance in this space.

“So, these are factors that people will consider in their coming out and they might not be out now, but coming out brings all this attention, it brings all this pressure, brings all this negativity that will affect their game in the long run.”

Cavallo also said that he would find it “difficult” to encourage other professional footballers to be public with their sexuality due to the “mountain of downsides” it comes with.

He credited his support network with helping him deal with the abuse he receives.

“I have a very strong support network,” he said. “I have my good days, I have my bad days but I’m free. I go to bed, I put my head on the pillow and I’m happy. I’m Josh Cavallo, I’m the footballer, I’m also the gay footballer and I’m super proud to say that.”

 

‘I got really good at lying. I’m trying to undo that. It’s hard to live a double life’ – Josh Cavallo on being an LGBT+ footballer

Josh Cavallo opens up on the positive reception he's had since coming out and the pain of keeping the secret for so long

[mike carey]

I just saw this piece on the ABC web site, published yesterday.

A-League player Josh Cavallo reveals death threats he receives since coming out as gay - ABC News

WWW.ABC.NET.AU

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Adelaide United defender Josh Cavallo, Australia's first openly gay professional footballer, says he still receives...

 

[pubic_assistance]

On 3/18/2025 at 7:43 PM, Lucky said:

coming out brings all this attention

Does it ? Or do public figures who "come out" CHOOSE to step into a gay spotlight.

I don't know enough about Australia to comment on their conservative culture, but if you compare it to that of the US, I DO know they don't like having alternative lifestyles shoved in their face. Over many years I've learned that even the most "open minded people" may cringe at the sight of two men kissing. So...supportive as long as they aren't confronted with the realities of the lifestyle.

A quick glance of this fellow's Instagram shows him kissing men, waving rainbow flags and enjoying his participation in the gay community. All fine and dandy for private citizens but clearly, risky business for a public figure.

My personal opinion about rainbow 🌈 flags is that the push to embrace the trans + gender queer communities into the LGB community is experiencing blowback and bringing negative reactions from the mainstream.

I am happy he brings representation, but he needs to be selective about how "in your face" representation may trigger homophobic fans.

[+ sync]

I'm sure it must be unsettling, I know it would be for me, but the reality of it is that social media technology these days has rendered death threats as rare as rain in New Orleans.

[mike carey]

1 hour ago, pubic_assistance said:

Does it ? Or do public figures who "come out" CHOOSE to step into a gay spotlight.

I don't know enough about Australia to comment on their conservative culture, but if you compare it to that of the US, I DO know they don't like having alternative lifestyles shoved in their face. Over many years I've learned that even the most "open minded people" may cringe at the sight of two men kissing. So...supportive as long as they aren't confronted with the realities of the lifestyle.

No, they do not choose to step into any sort of spotlight, they choose to say publicly who they are. Doing so takes away, inch by inch, from the power that those who claim that any LGBTQI+ identity is an abomination have over them, and anyone else. And yes, that includes opprobrium for bi people from those same haters.

Australian conservatism is less censorious than its US counterpart, as far as I can see. Australian conservatives may not like public displays of gay identity, but they are unlikely to see it as an affront to their dignity and more likely as something they should have looked away from, as not their business. There is still a hard core element that is unabashedly homophobic, but most people are accepting or just keep their peace if they don't like it. Transphobia is perhaps the exception, but even there acceptance is more common.

[pubic_assistance]

22 minutes ago, mike carey said:

most people are accepting or just keep their peace if they don't like it. Transphobia is perhaps the exception, but even there acceptance is more common.

We agree on this @mike carey. In most of the English speaking world, homosexuality/bisexuality is an accepted lifestyle...but it still makes a segment of macho-testosterone driven (likely closet cases) uncomfortable to be confronted with it. The "death threats" as @sync pointed out are a sad commonality of the social media world, where your every anxiety can be posted (somewhat anonymously) in it's most violent expression.

The last four years of pushing trans visibility in the US, Australia, Canada and G.B. is experiencing the blow back that I, (and many others) expected and warned against. I believe the issues are separate and for our sake we should keep them separate, lest we lose much of the progress we enjoy. Not saying you can't support your gender-queer friends, but stop making it THE SAME issue as gay rights.

Edited March 20 by pubic_assistance
spelling

[BSR]

On 3/20/2025 at 3:18 PM, sync said:

I'm sure it must be unsettling, I know it would be for me, but the reality of it is that social media technology these days has rendered death threats as rare as rain in New Orleans.

Sad but true, plenty (most? almost all?) (semi)famous people get death threats, rape threats, stalkers, the whole nine yards.  Every white, Christian, straight male podcaster gets death threats once they gain a decent-sized following.  Unfortunately, the anonymity of the Internet gives creeps and psychos an outlet for their sick fantasies.