Premier League star says he is gay in an open letter… but admits only his family and friends know and that he is not ‘ready’ to come out publicly as he fears it will make his situation ‘worse’
- An unnamed Premier League footballer has revealed he is gay in an open letter
- The player has opened up about the torment of keeping his sexuality secret
- Only his family members and a select group of friends are aware of his sexuality
An unnamed Premier League footballer has revealed that he is gay in an open letter, but is keeping his sexuality secret from his team-mates.
In the open letter, which is aimed at authorities and fans, he opens up of the daily torment he currently faces and says he is taking the ‘huge step’ of opening up about it.
However, the footballer added that his sport is not ready for a player to announce he is openly gay and has stated his fear in reveal his identity.
An unnamed Premier League footballer has revealed that he is gay in an open letter
In it the player, as quoted by The Sun, writes: ‘I am gay. Even writing that down in this letter is a big step for me.
‘But only my family members and a select group of friends are aware of my sexuality. I don’t feel ready to share it with my team or my manager.’
‘How does it feel having to live like this? Day-to-day, it can be an absolute nightmare. And it is affecting my mental health more and more,’ he continues.
The footballer added that his sport is not ready for a player to announce he is openly gay
‘I feel trapped and my fear is disclosing the truth about what I am will only make things worse.’
There are no openly gay or bisexual male professional footballers in the country at the moment.
The player is being supported by the Justin Fashanu Foundation, which is run by the former footballer’s niece Amal.
Fashanu, who played football for Notts County and West Ham, was the first professional footballer to come out as gay, but tragically he hanged himself in a deserted garage after being wrongly accused of sexual assault in 1998.
He is also being supported by the Justin Fashanu Foundation run by the footballer’s niece