Matildas star Chloe Logarzo passion for LGBTQ rights in wake of Isaac Humphries coming out as gay – Daily Mail

Matildas star Chloe Logarzo is proudly gay – and she won’t let the haters force her into hiding who she really is.

The 27-year-old forward, who has represented Australia more than 50 times at senior level and played in top leagues all over the world, is used to vile comments both online and in person.

And that’s exactly why it’s so important one of the country’s top female footballers is refusing to hide the way she attacks life with joy alongside fiancee McKenzie Berryhill, with whom she played with in the US National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). 

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia at the launch of the A-League Women’s season, in which she’ll be playing for new expansion side Western United, Logarzo said she isn’t pushing any agendas – just being true to herself.

‘I grew up not knowing anyone who was gay, literally not knowing a single soul, even though clearly they existed. I didn’t have an avenue to express my true self and I felt like I was on my own,’ she said of her upbringing in Sydney during the late ’90s and early 2000s.

‘I don’t want to share an advocate in a way that I’m pushing it on people. I just live my life without lying to people about it, because I don’t want to hide who I really am.  

‘If you want to get offended by something, you can be offended, but that’s on you and it’s your choice – it’s not a reflection on me. 

‘I’m just living my life and bringing a positive attitude … (and) putting back into the world what I would want to see.’

After beginning her professional career at Sydney FC in 2011, Logarzo has spent significant time playing in the NWSL, Sweden, Norway and the English Super League, and relishes experiencing all life has to offer. 

Unfortunately, despite being so comfortable in her own skin now and trying to be a role model for the next generation, it wasn’t always so easy.

‘I’d come out as gay to my parents when I was 17. They were a bit stunned and didn’t show emotion either way,’ Logarzo wrote for the Athlete’s Voice in 2018.

‘That wasn’t good enough for me. I took it to mean they didn’t approve when all they were really trying to do – as I realised much later – was deal with the initial shock and process what I’d told them.

‘Some of my other friends didn’t instantly come to terms with my news and I said to myself, ‘I’ll just get rid of you guys”.’

The pint-sized forward represented Football Australia and the A-Leagues at the Mardi Gras earlier this year, and she is clearly fully aware of what her LGBTQI+ advocacy can mean for young girls. It’s nothing less than life-saving. 

‘I wish I had (LGBTQI+) role models who could be here and experience this and to know that you’re loved and unified,’ she said after marching around the SCG. 

‘If you’re out there and you’re feeling lonely, just know that you’re accepted and you’re loved. There are people out there who want you to be loved, to feel safe and supported.’ 

Sadly, gay men and women do often not feel safe and supported. LGBTIQ+ Australia’s 2021 report into mental health and suicide prevention found young people aged 16-27 were five times more likely to attempt suicide than straight people.

When ‘Manly Seven’ member Josh Aloiai recently referred to homosexuality as a ‘lifestyle choice’, something Logarzo told Daily Mail Australia was ‘horrifically offensive’, many faced a torrent of abuse on social media for daring to speak up.

Logarzo said the amount of messages she’s received saying she has saved someone’s life, or made someone finally feel comfortable with their sexuality, makes it all worth it. 

‘The amount of DM’s I get in my Instagram inbox asking me about how did you know (you were gay), what did you do, all that kind of stuff, is amazing,’ she said.

‘I never had anything like that growing up, so it’s really special to be able to give back and be that person for young girls in particular.’

It’s a sentiment that has become even more important in recent days, with NBL star Isaac Humphries coming out as gay in an emotional speech to his teammates. 

‘It is a truth about myself that I have wanted to deny for a long time, but now I feel comfortable in telling you all. That truth, is that I am gay,’ he said in the video, which was released on Wednesday.

‘I have been through extremely dark times during this journey, but I have been through so much growth and I am now happy with who I am.

‘I believe it is definitely time to make a change and set an example to the next generation that they can be anything they want while still being true to themselves.’ 

Humphries, who plays for Melbourne United, is just the second active male player in one of Australia’s top sports leagues to come out as gay, alongside A-League player Josh Cavallo.

‘All I want to do is play football and be treated equally,’ Cavallo said in an emotional coming out video in October last year.

A pretty simple request, but one ignored by far too many people, including Qatar World Cup ambassador Khalid Salman, a former Qatari international, who called homosexuality ‘a damage in the mind’.

The treatment of LGBTQI+ people, and athletes, has certainly come under the microscope given the upcoming World Cup is taking place in oppressive Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal and those who engage in same-sex sexual intercourse can be jailed for up to seven years.

Fortunately, players such as German superstar Leon Goretzka are being vocal, despite the risk in doing so, that anti-gay sentiment is not okay. 

‘That is not what we (German players) want to stand for and what we exemplify,’ he said in response to Salman’s ‘damaged mind’ comments.

‘It is absolutely unacceptable to make such a statement. It’s very oppressive.

‘This is an image of a man that comes from another millennium. It leaves you speechless that something like this can be said by a World Cup ambassador shortly before a World Cup,’ said a furious Goretzka.

Angie Greene, CEO of Stand Up Events, a not-for-profit incorporated association dedicated to fighting homophobia, particularly in sport, said while things were heading in the right direction, more needs to be done. 

‘In terms of if we are speaking about governing bodies like the AFL, Tennis Australia, NBL, he is the first in Australia and the second in the entire world and we are talking about 2022,’ she said on KIIS 101.1 Thursday morning.

‘We’ve done research with Monash University and the stats are absolutely terrifying. There is still 50 per cent of gay youths that intentionally exclude themselves from male team-dominated sports because they don’t feel safe or included, so to provide this visibility is massive.’

Logarzo’s Western United will play their first-ever game in a blockbuster match-up against reigning champions Melbourne Victory on Saturday afternoon, while the World Cup begins at 3am Monday (AEDT) with a match between hosts Qatar and Ecuador.

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