Gay A-league soccer star takes fashion praise over fan slurs

That strategy involves dragging reluctant brand fans towards greater acceptance. “Fortunately there seems to be a shift in values,” Garg said.

It’s a dramatic shift since the eighties, when lesbian tennis champion Martina Navratilova struggled to find endorsements, and in 1994, when diver Greg Louganis declared his sexuality and HIV status, only to be dropped by sponsors. As recently as the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, gay Australian diver Matthew Mitcham was ignored by major companies following a gold medal performance, until Telstra signed his services the following year.

“If you go back five or 10 years ago, one of the reasons why athletes didn’t come out about their sexuality was the fear of limiting their endorsement opportunities,” said Andrew Purchas, co-founder of national sport inclusion program Pride In Sport. “Now not only is it not seen as an impediment, but it can be a positive thing with companies wanting to work with people who are open and expressing their authentic self.”

Ralph Lauren’s commitment to inclusion can be seen by its role as sponsor of the LGBTQI+ Glam Slam at Melbourne Park from January 28.

“The connection of my coming out story and their values attracted me to wanting to work with them,” Cavallo said. “I want to help uplift, encourage and show people that it doesn’t matter what background you come from, the colour of your skin or whether you are gay or straight. They involve everyone.”

Loading

Having reflected on the homophobia he experienced at his last match, Cavallo isn’t worried about outbursts from the crowd at Melbourne Park this Sunday, when he demonstrates the high-performance properties of the polo shirt at a tennis clinic.

“Unfortunately, as a footballer and a sports athlete you’re going to get hate regardless. It doesn’t matter if its about you or what you did on the field. It was an exciting moment for me to see how the crowd reacted when there was something like that going on. I’ve gotten a lot of support and messages from people saying that the behaviour was not on and that they said something to the crowd and stood up for me… I’m just getting a big hug from everyone.”

Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter. Get it in your inbox every Monday.