Former Australian A-League footballer Andy Brennan says the reaction to coming out has been ‘amazing’
The footballer came out via social media earlier this year
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
Former Australian football player Andy Brennan has said the reaction has been amazing since he came out.
Former Newcastle Jets player, Andy Brennan was in a heterosexual relationship up until June last year and was hiding his sexuality.
But earlier this year, Brennan publicly came out on social media after coming out to a close friend last November.
A Twitter account named The Gay Footballer was detailing a date when a Championship footballer was going to come out.
However, the day before the ‘coming out date’ the account was deleted and the unnamed footballer told followers that it wasn’t a hoax but couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Now, while speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Brennan hopes the account wasn’t a hoax but said even if it is, the account created ‘positive energy’ for any footballer struggling to come to terms with their sexuality.
He said: “I personally hope it isn’t a hoax, but even if it is I think you just focus on the positives.
“The positive energy it created with all the supportive reactions from people was more important than anything negative, and that’s what you have to focus on – otherwise you let the negativity win.
“The reaction has been amazing, I haven’t had one negative comment. That was something I feared a lot with everyone I told, but everyone – team-mates, family, friends – has been amazing.
“I’ve had no problems with opposition fans either, everyone’s been really supportive.
“The way it’s affected my life has been only positive, it’s been so much better.”