Scottish Footballer Zander Murray Discusses Being Out
When Scottish men’s football Zander Murray came out in September 2022, he became the first openly gay pro footballer in the UK since Justin Fashanu. At the age of 30, coming out was reportedly not easy for Murray but since living his truth, he has been in “such a good place”.
There is so much joy to be found after coming out
Growing up, Zander explains that he saw little to no representation of gay folks and it made coming out even harder. “I’m learning how to be gay at 31,” he tells The Scottish Sun. “I had no gay education growing up or in school. I’m still getting there with it.”
Like many gay men, Zander says he had known he was gay from a young age but that the times have changed for the better. Initially concerned about the response from his teammates and fans, Zander reports that coming out via Facebook post has been one of the best things he’s done.
Zander champions anti-discrimination by talking at schools and companies for outreach events. “I’m going into schools and companies doing talks about discrimination. It’s really rewarding,” he says. “They aren’t growing up learning all the things they used to call us and it’s so much easier to talk to them. They’re much more open and accepting and compassionate.”
When he was starting out in football, Zander explains he felt afraid to accept offers to play at elite levels. “I had multiple offers when I was younger to play at a higher level but I just couldn’t do it because I was so scared about being gay,” he says. Since coming out though, he has felt a weight lift from him and he’s been pleasantly surprised that at most, he receives playful banter from his team.
“The lads, my teammates and the opposition, they’re brilliant. If I get any banter from them it’s only about my fake tan.” Despite it taking him years to feel comfortable to come out, Zander feels that living as his authentic self took the pressure off him.
“I don’t want to put any other footballer under pressure to come out, but if they are struggling I can tell them, from my experience, it definitely helped… For young players, being able to come out will definitely improve your game.”
