Arsenal and England footballer Beth Mead has opened up about her coming out journey and LGBTQ+ representation.
Since her debut, Mead has made massive waves in the football industry for her incredible skills and landmark plays.
In July, the young talent wowed fans when she helped secure England’s first major women’s championship at the 2022 Euro Final.
The 27-year-old also earned the championship’s coveted Golden Boot and Player of the Tournament titles.
Aside from her numerous sports accomplishments, Mead has made waves for being one of the few openly LGBTQ+ footballers in the industry.
In a new interview with Sky Sports, the beloved star opened up about struggling with her identity before coming out.
“When I was growing up where I came from, there weren’t many people I knew that were openly gay or bisexual,” she told the news outlet.
“My parents, at the time, maybe struggled in the beginning, and it was something that was hard for me to say.
“I really struggled for a long time, whether it was just maybe a phase or thoughts, but it wasn’t anything that I wanted to act upon.”
View this post on Instagram
Mead went on to say that she never felt inclined to make a big coming-out announcement, stating: “I’m just being me. To me, I’ve tried to make it the normal rather than make it a statement.”
Towards the end of her interview, the Arsenal player expressed the importance of LGBTQ+ representation in football, specifically in the men’s division.
“Obviously, for the men right now, they have to put it out in the media to then see what reaction they get and I get the culture in the men’s game is still very different, and it is much, much harder,” she explained.
“But for me, I want to bridge that gap and help the men as much as the women… It shouldn’t be frowned upon. It should be the norm.
“Everyone has their opinion but for me, it now has to be the norm, you can’t help who fall in love with. If you are happy, that is all that matters.”
Over the last few months, various male players and football professionals have come out as part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Back in May, Jake Daniels became Britain’s first active openly gay male professional footballer since Justin Fashanu in 1990.
A month later, Scottish referees Craig Napier and Lloyd Wilson came out as gay.
Lastly, Gala Fairydean Rover striker Zander Murray made history as the first openly gay Scottish senior footballer after coming out on 17 September.
Latest
