Out gay footballer Josh Cavallo says he gets ‘multiple, multiple, multiple’ death threats a day
"In the world of football, being an openly gay player is a very toxic place"
Josh Cavallo, one of the world’s few publicly gay professional footballers, has said that he receives “multiple” death threats a day.
The former Attitude cover star discussed the matter during a recent podcast appearance on FIFPRO’s Footballers Unfiltered.
In an interview, the Adelaide United midfielder – who came out publicly as gay in 2021, and got engaged to his partner Leighton Morrell in 2024 – described football as a “very toxic place” with “a mountain of downsides” for out gay players.
“It’s difficult to say to people, ‘Absolutely, come out, be yourself'” – Josh Cavallo
“There’s multiple, multiple, multiple death threats that come my way daily,” the 25-year-old explained. “And that’s quite sad to see.”
The sportsman went on: “In the world of football, being an openly gay player is a very toxic place. It’s something that not everyone would be able to handle and go through.
“I still think we’re a very, very long way of 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. It’s difficult to say to people, ‘Absolutely, come out, be yourself’.
“But it also comes with a mountain of downsides as well that I don’t think people realise.”
On coming out publicly at the age of 21, Josh said: “I was tired of being hidden and tired of having to go around and hide from people and not live my authentic self.
“Then I would be like why hasn’t this happened in football? Why hasn’t no one ever came out to be themselves and be successful and play? And I understand that now looking back, all the negativity, all the things that come your way.”