Australian gay professional footballer and psychologist to help others like him

Australian gay professional footballer and psychologist to help others like him

Psychology graduate to use his skills to help footballers who are afraid to come out

Andy Brennan, a professional with South Melbourne FC, recently graduated with a degree in psychology and has already declared his intention to use his skills to help other footballers like him who are struggling to be themselves in the world of football.

In 2019, he decided to leave football due to the internal conflict caused by the acceptance of his homosexuality. In the end, it was the turning point that made him reborn.

I had reached a point where I could no longer manage my life and continue in sport,” he explained. And then he wrote the words “I am gay” on the website of the players’ union. To free himself once and for all.

“I just felt I had to do it.”

Andy Brennan was the first professional footballer to come out in Australia, while the year before it was the turn of American footballer Collin Martin, a midfielder for the North Carolina football team since 2024.

Josh Cavallo, Jake Daniels, Zander Murray and Jakub Jankto are the other professional footballers who have come out while still playing.

Brennan began studying psychology around the time he came out: “It was through my experiences in football and feeling uncomfortable that made me want to study psychology. It’s such an important space to make an individual feel included.”

And again in his 2019 post, the Australian footballer described the ‘closet’ in which he ‘hid’ as ”a mental burden of not knowing how people around you will react… it was a perceived pressure that consumed me”.

A change for Andy Brennan, who, five years after coming out, is now more relaxed on the pitch, as evidenced by his sporting performances.

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