Pro soccer players like Australia's Josh Cavallo and Britain's Jake Daniels may have come out of the closet to the support of their colleagues, but things seem to be different in the semi-pro world. At least, that was the case with onetime semi-pro British soccer player Jake Williamson, whose own teammates shunned him after he came out in an interview, Australian newspaper the Star Observer reported. Williamson came out in 2021 after meeting his partner, Paul, during the COVID pandemic, the Star Observer relayed. "I remember vividly, we used to take my dog for a walk," Williamson told the BBC's LGBT Sport Podcast. "And I just remember, for the first time ever, we just held hands, and at that point, it was the most powerful experience still today that I've ever had in my life." The athlete went on to add: "You would think that's so strange, but literally, I held his hand and I just internally I just thought, 'yeah, this is it. I need to just sort of bite the bullet,' and I was ready." Williamson was playing for a Sunday football league in Birmingham at the time, the newspaper detailed. But as soon as Williamson embraced authenticity, the other players on his team showed what they were made of in turn. Williamson described the experience to Pink News, saying that after the BBC interview he "experienced homophobia for the first time" when he was "completely shut out of the team." Added the athlete: "It's bad enough that, in the society we live in, we get made to feel like we're the worst thing on earth sometimes - so it's not nice when your own football team just cuts you off."⁠ ⁠ Tap link in bio for more on @EDGEmedianetwork ⁠ ????⁠ ?: @jake_williamsonpt

Pro soccer players like Australia's Josh Cavallo and Britain's Jake Daniels may have come out of the closet to the support of their colleagues, but things seem to be different in the semi-pro world. At least, that was the case with onetime semi-pro British soccer player Jake Williamson, whose own teammates shunned him after he came out in an interview, Australian newspaper the Star Observer reported. Williamson came out in 2021 after meeting his partner, Paul, during the COVID pandemic, the Star Observer relayed. "I remember vividly, we used to take my dog for a walk," Williamson told the BBC's LGBT Sport Podcast. "And I just remember, for the first time ever, we just held hands, and at that point, it was the most powerful experience still today that I've ever had in my life." The athlete went on to add: "You would think that's so strange, but literally, I held his hand and I just internally I just thought, 'yeah, this is it. I need to just sort of bite the bullet,' and I was ready." Williamson was playing for a Sunday football league in Birmingham at the time, the newspaper detailed. But as soon as Williamson embraced authenticity, the other players on his team showed what they were made of in turn. Williamson described the experience to Pink News, saying that after the BBC interview he "experienced homophobia for the first time" when he was "completely shut out of the team." Added the athlete: "It's bad enough that, in the society we live in, we get made to feel like we're the worst thing on earth sometimes - so it's not nice when your own football team just cuts you off."⁠
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Tap link in bio for more on @EDGEmedianetwork ⁠
????⁠
?: @jake_williamsonpt