Gay Sky Sports presenter on coming out within the football industry

Sky Sports presenter Mark McAdam, who is openly gay, has expressed that he feels like he’s “always coming out” in the football world.

In 2014, McAdam revealed his sexuality in an interview with Gay Times magazine, discussing his long struggle with accepting his identity and noting that gay footballers may avoid coming out “out of fear.”

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Recently, as ‘MSN’ writes, on the All Out with Jon Dean podcast, he shared that coming out remains a continuous process for him.

Reflecting on this, McAdam said, “The strange thing about coming out is you never do it just once.”

“In my field, you're constantly coming out for the rest of your life because when I meet new players and managers, they're often unaware of my sexuality, as not everyone follows Gay Times or social media or has had that conversation.”

He explained further, “They might ask, ‘Oh, did you have a good summer? What did you get up to? You away with the kids, wife?’ and I’m thinking, ‘Here we go again. Do I come out or just say I’m single or find another way to respond?’”

At present, only five professional footballers are openly gay. Last year, Zander Murray, a forward for Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic, announced his retirement.

In a 2017 interview with Attitude magazine, McAdam stated, “I believe the football dressing room would be welcoming to a gay footballer because teammates support each other regardless of color, sexuality, race, or religion. Wearing the shirt unites them. Footballers support one another.”

However, he also pointed out, “The industry as a whole must make significant progress, both in media and among fans, though it’s certainly moving in the right direction.”

In 2020, McAdam led coverage of talkSPORT’s Game Day show, which honoured Justin Fashanu, Britain’s first openly gay professional footballer, and advocated for greater inclusivity within the sport.

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