Gay Australian football player, Josh Cavallo proposes to his boyfriend, Leighton Morrell!

Updated On March 18, 2024 | Published By: shahid | In controversy , Engagement , Sexuality

Australian soccer player, Josh Cavallo, 24 proposed to his boyfriend, Leighton Morrell, on the pitch of Coopers Stadium, which is the home pitch of his Australian A-League team Adelaide United. The footballer is the first top-flight male professional soccer player who is openly gay and came out in 2021.

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Josh Cavallo proposes to his boyfriend

Josh Cavallo is 24 and an openly gay Australian football player who plays for Adelaide United team. On Thursday 14 March 2024, Josh announced on his social media about his engagement to his boyfriend, Leighton Morrell.

The proposal took place at the home pitch of his team, Coopers Stadium. Additionally, Josh uploaded three photos of the occasion for his fans and social media subscribers.

In the first photo, he is seen going down on one knee with an engagement ring. While in the second pic, Josh is smiling and Leighton has covered his eyes. And in the third photo is a close-up of the two holding hands and the engagement ring on Leighton’s left ring finger is clearly visible. Alongwith, Josh wrote on X:

“Starting this year with my fiancée.”

Moreover , he thanked his football teammates for helping him to make the engagement a surprise for his fiancee. He added:

“You have provided a safe space in football, one that I never in my dreams thought could ever be possible,”
“I wanted to share this special moment on the pitch, where it all started.”

Josh came out as gay in 2021

Josh made history when in October 2021, he came out as gay. In the past, there has been a lot of bullying and bad mouthing about football players who came out as gay. They had to bear insults and were victims of homophobia. For instance, earlier, in 1990, English footballer Justin Fashanu had announced that he was gay during his career. But he was victimized and did suicide after eight years of coming out.

While coming out, Josh had uploaded an emotional online video in which he said:

“I hope that in sharing who I am, I can show others who identify as LGBTQ+ that they are welcome in the football community.”

Also, he vowed to change the sport’s culture and make it inclusive. He said that he wanted to tell everyone that they are welcome in the game of football. Josh also thanked his team for letting him live his life in an authentic way.

Josh had revealed that he was gay from his age of 16. But he was afraid to tell about it to his friends and family. He was worried that his coming out might affect his budding career. He used to hide his off-the-ground unhappiness and gave an impression to everyone that he is happy and bubbly. But deep inside, he was depressed. However, after coming out, he said, he was relieved. He expressed:

“I have never smiled so much in my life.”
“I had the best night’s sleep after my announcement.”

Josh gets support

Josh had full support from his family, friends, fans, social media subscribers, teammates, and his football coach. The head coach of the team, Carl Veart, stated:

“Josh is a tremendous young man and has shown incredible courage to be one of very few professional sportsmen to be this brave… I have nothing but admiration and support for him, as do all the players and coaching staff.”

Other football players such as Gerard Piqué, Marcus Rashford, Antoine Griezmann, Jordan Henderson, Gary Lineker, and Lionel Messi, as well as celebrities like Lil Nas X and Ellen DeGeneres gave him a thumbs up.

Josh had become an icon since then. He is an outspoken advocate for ensuring a greater equality and better treatment for the LGBTQ community.

Subsequently, after 2021, Josh played in the A-League Pride matches. He wore jersey in which the number and his name was in rainbow colors. His social media posts include messages of encouragement for people belonging to the LGBTQ+ community.

At the 2022 awards ceremony by Attitude Magazine, Europe’s largest LGBTQ magazine, he was named as Man of the Year. Moreover, he was upset with FIFA’s decision in 2022 of prohibiting football players from wearing the “OneLove” armbands during the World Cup in Qatar. He told CNN that it made him feel excluded from the game. He said:

“If I had been there and I had been the captain, yes, I would have worn the armband. I’m not ashamed to be who I am,”
“And it’s exactly the reason why I’ve come out and to be the person I am today,”

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