New Footage Shows The Moment Josh Cavallo Came Out As Gay To His Adelaide United Teammates
Image: Josh Cavallo (left) came out to his teammates in 2021. Image: Instagram
New footage has been released in the lead-up of the premiere of A-Leagues All Access, a new Australian sports docu-series that follows Adelaide United players.
October is National Coming Out Month, so fittingly, the footage shows the moment Adelaide United player, Josh Cavallo, came out to his teammates as gay nearly one year ago in October.
Cavallo came out publicly last year in a video and statement on social media. He became the world’s only openly gay active top-flight player. “There’s something personal that I need to share with everyone. I’m a footballer and I’m gay,” Cavallo announced in the video last year.
Cavallo went on to say that he was, “hiding who I truly am to pursue a dream I always wished for as a kid,” and that, “All I wanna do is play football and be treated equally”.
Behind-The-Scenes Footage
https://twitter.com/aleaguemen/status/1577584386941235200
The new footage released earlier this week shows the emotional moment that Cavallo came out to his teammates just prior to coming out publicly on social media last year.
“For all my life growing up I’ve been made to live a life of lies, you know. For the last six years, I’ve been struggling with my sexuality, so today I’ll be coming out to the public that I’m a gay… I’m a gay footballer,” Cavallo announced to his team in the dressing room.
The footage shows Cavallo’s teammates hugging him in support following his coming out.
“Twenty minutes before I pressed the post button, I was in the changing room with all my team-mates and coaches. I was very nervous, my heart was beating so quickly when I announced it. It was so emotional, something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.” Cavallo had told GOAL earlier this year.
“Everyone gave me a big hug and said, ‘We’re so proud you can tell us who you really are.’ What amazed me the most was that 30 seconds after I made that announcement, me and the boys went straight back to talking about football and everything was normal again. That was exactly what I wanted, just to be accepted for who I was and not be treated any differently.”
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Cavallo Has No Regrets
“It has been phenomenal; it honestly feels like a dream come true,” Cavallo said. “From that time I clicked the post button on October 27, I can’t explain to you how happy it has made me. The support I have got from my family, my team-mates, my peers, my friends, and worldwide was just phenomenal, and made me wonder why I had been hiding this for so long.”
Later in the season, Cavallo played against the Central Coast Mariners in a game that for the first time in the A-Leagues history, was officially designated a Pride Game.
The 30-episode documentary series will follow Adelaide United across their journey last season preparing for the Isuzu UTE A-League Men’s finals.
A-Leagues All Access will premiere on KEEPUP.com.au, the KEEPUP app and KEEPUP YouTube channel on October 13.
