Scottish pro Zander Murray inspires fellow soccer player to come out as gay
Two weeks after making headlines as the first-ever senior Scottish pro soccer player to come out as gay, Zander Murray is revealing the impact his courageous decision has had on at least one closeted player.
Murray tweeted a message he received that shows the difference an athlete coming out can make. “I just wanted to tell you that you’ve been a massive inspiration for me to come out to teammates and family,” the anonymous player told Murray, according to the tweet. “As a young footballer I find it difficult to be myself as it is but being gay and keeping it secret was so challenging.
It felt amazing when I told my teammates, they were super supportive.” Murray shared the message with a heart emoji and the words: “Makes it all worthwhile young man.” Murray, 30, came out during an interview posted on the website of his club, the Gala Fairydean Rovers, on September 16, explaining “the weight of the world is now off my shoulders.” As the Los Angeles Blade has reported, Jake Daniels of Blackpool came out as gay in May, the first U.K.
male pro soccer player to come out in more than 30 years. Justin Fashanu was the first in Britain men’s soccer to come out back in 1990.
