A footballer has said abandoned his favourite sport in fear of how he would be treated if he came out as gay.
Colin Dowling, from Rock Ferry, stopped playing football as a result of the abuse he heard others faced because of their sexuality and missed out on around nine years of playing the sport he “loved to death.” Explaining how it was the “worst decision” he ever made, the 42-year-old often wonders what level of team he could be representing now if he had “just been stronger.”
The government administrator, who realised he was gay at 13, said the uncertainty about being who he really was was only amplified every time he stepped out of the locker room, onto the pitch and heard homophobic chants.
