Australian footballer comes out as gay

Former Newcastle Jets player Andy Brennan has become Australia’s first professional male footballer to come out as gay while still playing the game.

The 26-year-old, who made five appearances for the Jets in 2016 and now plays for Victorian NPL side Green Gully, made the announcement in a social media post on Tuesday night.

He said he had spent many years of uncertainty about his sexuality and the reaction such an announcement would get, but came to the conclusion that being open was the best way for him to feel comfortable.

“I’m gay,” he wrote in an essay published by Professional Footballers Australia, the players’ union. “It’s incredible saying that now; it feels amazing. And weirdly, it doesn’t feel like a big deal. Really in 2019, it shouldn’t be.

“But I couldn’t be happier that despite taking so long, ruminating over this decision for so many years and being entirely unsure about myself, I can finally come out and say it.”

He joins Ian Roberts as the only top-level Australian sportsman in the major football codes to ever have come out as gay while still playing. Roberts, a former NRL player, came out in 1995.