"I feel it's an important subject to share and to talk about - even if my story resonates deeply with just one person, it's worth doing."
When Greg McLean, a coach from Liverpool, spoke to Sky Sports News during the annual activation of the Rainbow Laces campaign about his positive coming out journey in football, he hoped other LGBT+ people in sport would feel empowered too - even if the time or circumstances might not be right for them to follow in his footsteps.
Greg's story is just one of many Sky Sports has brought to a wider audience since becoming founding members of TeamPride back in November 2016. It's these personal experiences, from the grassroots to the elite, that have helped to bring the Stonewall initiative to life and grow both awareness and participation.
Each year, we are fortunate that there's an ever-increasing number of new Rainbow Laces stories to share from both LGBT+ people and allies - but just as coming out is not a one-off event if you are lesbian, gay, bi or trans, so it goes that there are always extra chapters to those tales that we have helped tell before.
As the 2020 campaign activation draws to a close, we invited Greg and two other contributors to our coverage from previous years - WONDERKID film-maker Rhys Chapman and referee Raymond Mashamba - to reflect on their experiences, tell us what happened next, and what Rainbow Laces means to them...
'Your true friends won't turn away'
Greg McLean is the club secretary and coach of St Margaret's Old Boys FC, based in Aigburth in Liverpool. In November 2018, he explained to SSN's Alan Myers he had walked away from the club three years earlier having struggled with his sexuality, but returned to the club after coming out, having found the environment to be much more inclusive and welcoming than he thought it would be.
When I look back at that time now, I remember it being a bit like an out-of-body experience. I got so much positive feedback. I never would have thought three or four years earlier that I would be in my St Margaret's kit talking to Sky Sports about coming out in football.
When you are in the closet, you just cannot imagine life outside of it - but when you have come out, to be able to be open and be who I am within football is a great feeling.
It's our 10th season this year, and we have had well over 100 players play for us in that time. Many still remember that day when the Sky cameras came along - it was slightly surreal - and it made them think more about Rainbow Laces, and how inclusive we are as a club, which is something I have always wanted. We have got players who have not taken the laces out of their boots and have become strong supporters of the campaign. It shows it definitely has meaning.
I had messages from other LGBT+ people across the country saying it had given them a new perspective on looking at coming out to their team-mates - that they had been thinking about it, and that watching my story and how my club had reacted had given them a nudge to go and do it. These were emotive messages to receive, but really that is exactly why I did it - to show that the support is going to be there, even if you cannot see it.
I have been working for the Cheshire FA for a couple of years now. They were already supporting Rainbow Laces before I started but I explained the impact that the grassroots stories have and I was happy to share my own again. The feedback was great - at that point, I had not really spoken to some of my FA colleagues about coming out so it was news to them!
Last season, the Cheshire League got a kit made for a representative match, and got laces out to every team - they were fully behind it. Sometimes it just needs someone to push it a little bit and then everyone gets behind it. Without those stories, people do not realise the impact it can have on that one individual.
But the biggest moment to have happened in my life over the past two years was definitely meeting my boyfriend, Charlie. Once upon a time, I thought I would grow old living alone being ashamed of who I was - but now I am out and proud and it has meant that I have met Charlie, who has also been on a coming out journey of his own. I'm so glad we have found each other - he has changed my life.
My main takeaway? I think it would just be that you can underestimate people. At the time, I prejudged the players' opinion without giving them the benefit of the doubt. I thought that they would think that maybe I wasn't as good a football coach because I am gay, and I was worried they would not want to play for me as a manager. But people who are your true friends will not turn away.
I know now that being gay does not have any effect on my ability to successfully run a football club, or the Liverpool Old Boys Amateur Football League that I am also secretary of. If anything, I am able to perform even better because I am my true, authentic self all of the time and people accept me for that.
'The legacy of WONDERKID continues'
Rhys Chapman is a writer/director whose 2016 short film WONDERKID - about a young footballer who is gay and wants to come out, but finds himself dissuaded as his career begins to take off - was given its TV premiere by Sky Sports. More recently, the 30-minute drama has been used as an educational tool. He lives in London with his wife Maria Sihaloho - who co-founded the LGBTQ+ inclusive football team WONDERKID FC - and their one-year-old son Huw.
I feel WONDERKID opened the door for a much wider conversation. This ongoing situation with there being no out gay footballers in the men's professional game remains a very emotional subject and you tend to hear a lot of strong opinions.
Whenever we screened the film, we would always have a discussion afterwards. These panel chats were so impactful - I did that many, many times for around a year solid, and feeling the energy that went along with the education was amazing.
One of the screenings was in Russia, where it's so different for the LGBT+ community in terms of rights. The mood in the hall in Moscow was tense but I could sense the shift in people's behaviour during the Q&A. The barriers came down and you could see how happy and accepted everyone felt.
In the UK, we have shown WONDERKID to Academy players at several professional clubs, working with Kick It Out. For example, Reece James and Callum Hudson-Odoi were in the session we did at Chelsea. To see them now having gone on to play not just for the first team but for England as well is pretty mind-blowing.
The film has had over 200,000 views through our website, where it's hosted on Vimeo, but our YouTube channel has had over 5million views from the various clips, and there's also hundreds of thousands of views on Facebook.
It's hard to put an exact number on it though - there have been a lot of copyright infringements on YouTube including full versions of the film with over 10million views that had to be removed. It's great and annoying at the same time! Naturally we want to host the film ourselves, lead the conversation, and generate the data to show its impact but it's been pirated a lot and eventually those copies have all been taken down.
We have had loads of supportive messages and comments about the film down the years, from all around the world, particularly from South America and Indonesia. They still come in now. Football moves so fast with things like VAR, and different branding and kits but I do not think WONDERKID has visibly aged so I hope it can continue to be seen.
The film's legacy continues with the LGBT-inclusive WONDERKID FC team that we created. They play in the Super 5 League in Hackney on Monday nights. The team happened really organically - there was no grand plan for it, but it's just grown separately to the film and Maria and the players have really made it their own.
As for those conversations, mental health is being spoken about so much more in men's football nowadays. Through the film, we always wanted to communicate that footballers are real people with feelings. We also now have players like Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford speaking out, offering opinions on social issues, taking action and being themselves.
I do not think that really existed back in 2016. It feels different now. Back then, players were encouraged to be robotic - now there's a much greater understanding that players have a voice and a platform, and can help bring about change for other people. We are seeing that through Rainbow Laces this year as well.
I also think people understand now that the creation of a more welcoming environment in men's football is more important than a gay or bi player coming out publicly. If that did happen right at this moment, at the elite level, I think that player would be very well received. It would be a step in the right direction but at that top level, I can appreciate the situation is going to be very different to lower down the leagues.
WONDERKID can currently be watched for free on the film's official website.
'My life has been saved because of football'
Raymond Mashamba travelled to London from Zimbabwe in May 2018 to officiate in an international football tournament organised by CONIFA. Part of the Matabeleland delegation, he made headlines around the world when he became the first referee to show a 'green card' - a disciplinary measure introduced for the World Football Cup - in a match. Shortly afterwards, a national newspaper back in his homeland outed him as gay. Fearing for his safety if he were to return to Bulawayo, he sought asylum in the UK, which was granted in December 2018. He now lives in Leeds.
Looking back at that time now, it was such a struggle. I had come to a new country where I had no friends or family - but I found people who supported me, and who wanted to listen and understand my situation.
At first, I was in a refugee camp in Wakefield and I did not know what would happen to me. Then I was moved down to accommodation in London, and began to meet other people and socialise. Through me being a referee, I was introduced to the London Titans and the LGBT football scene, and that is where I found a new family.
I got invited to join them at training - I was so scared going along for the first time. But everyone accepted me and was interested to know my story. It was so heartwarming. I missed home terribly but this felt like a new home. Every week after that, I could not wait to go back to those training sessions and the five-a-side nights too.
Coming from Zimbabwe, the perception of the UK is that as a black person, people do not care about you - that is the mentality that we grow up with. So getting here and seeing a totally different side was very emotional. I'm living up in Leeds now but I still keep in touch with the Titans. After all that they have done for me, I owe them so much.
If I'd had to go back to Zimbabwe, I fear that I'd be in prison or worse. I recently spoke to some of the people in the LGBT+ organisation back home - they had been attacked and some had been jailed. A lot of people in our country feel that if you are LGBT+, you are somehow not human enough to be part of Zimbabwe. It's heartbreaking that my country is not moving forwards and accepting people for who they are.
I have been in contact with my mum. She told me she felt pain over what happened and that she wanted something better for me. But she has also accepted the fact that I am how I am. My sister lives in South Africa and is understanding about my situation. I hope one day I can travel there, see my family, and we can resolve all these things.
Earlier this year, I heard from my former boyfriend back in Bulawayo - he found me on Facebook. He had managed to escape to Namibia, where he had family. He told me he is safe and happy there, so that was a huge relief.
Since sharing my story, I have had a lot of messages from LGBT+ people in Nigeria as well as Zimbabwe, and also from Italy and Spain. My advice is always that you have to learn to trust others. People are more accepting and understanding than you might think. Just be you - it's your life, so try to express yourself.
I feel that my life has been saved because of football. I do not think I would have won my case without it. Being a referee meant I could offer something and it helped me find a community. I have not been able to do much officiating this year because of the pandemic but I plan to get back into it with CONIFA and also WUFA (World Unity Football Alliance), which is a new organisation that I have been asked to be part of.
It is good that the Premier League is sending a message of inclusion around the world through Rainbow Laces. However, I spoke to some people back home about it once and I do not think the meaning of the colours is well known. It is more LGBT+ people who understand it. If we can express it more through stories, that will help. I am only a referee - a player's story would be very influential and would reach so many people.
Whether I am refereeing or playing, football makes me feel confident and in control of my emotions. But it goes beyond just that - it's about unity. Whatever your ethnicity or sexuality, football can help people progress and feel comfortable with who they are, as I learned from being part of the Titans family. I will always be grateful to them.
Sky Sports is a member of TeamPride which supports Stonewall's Rainbow Laces campaign. If you'd like to help inspire others in sport by sharing your own story of being LGBT+ or an ally, please contact us here.