Thomas Beattie on helping Josh Cavallo to come out, and life as a gay man in football

«You won't know me, but I'm struggling and need someone to talk to.»

Josh Cavallo's name didn't mean anything to Thomas Beattie when it first appeared in the ex-Hull City academy footballer's inbox — and on the face of it, there was little to link the two men together.

Cavallo was based in Australia, a young professional footballer at the very start of his career, while Beattie was living the life of an entrepreneur in Singapore after a horrific head injury forced him to step away from the game.

But the two men had one thing in common.

Both were gay — and while Beattie had decided to share his sexuality in an online article in 2020,external-link Cavallo wasn't yet out to the world.

«He said he'd read a lot about my story and felt like I was him, just 10 years after,» Beattie, 35, tells the BBC's LGBT Sport Podcast.

«So I responded and we ended up talking almost daily. I was excited that he'd had the courage to reach out to me, because without knowing someone, it takes a lot.

»You don't know who they are going to tell, but the fact I'd gone through that process meant he knew I understood the difficulties of it and trusted me with that secret."

In October 2021 — months after he started talking with Beattie — Cavallo created a watershed moment in the world of football when he became the first top-level male professional to come out as gay while still playing.

But without Beattie paving the way, the moment may never have happened.

The elements of Beattie's story that resonated with Cavallo will strike a chord with many other gay and bisexual men in sport.

As a young lad growing up in Yorkshire, he was spotted by a local scout who noticed his speed on the ball.

«When you're young and you're quick, you just kick it and run past nine