An anonymous footballer who says he plays in the English Championship has backtracked on his supposed plans to come out as homosexual on Wednesday, saying that he is "not strong enough" to follow through with his intention.
The @FootballerGay Twitter account, which has since been deleted, posted two messages on Tuesday reversing his supposed decision to announce his identity at a press conference to his more than 50,000 followers.
"I thought I was stronger. I was wrong," he said in the first, before a lengthier message was posted explain his motivations for canceling the press conference, before appearing to delete the account entirely.
"Call me all the names under the sun, belittle me and ridicule me, a lot will, and I can’t change that, but I’m not strong enough to do this," the anonymous player wrote.
"Just remember that I’ve got feelings, without coming out I can’t convince anybody otherwise, but this isn’t a hoax. I wouldn’t do that."
The player, who is believed to be under the age of 23 and playing in the second tier of English football, had received vocal support from several members of the football community including ex-England striker Gary Lineker.
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The player revealed to the BBC that he had received several death threats to his Twitter account, distracting from what was intended to be a positive message.
"Whilst I know several others within the game who are gay/bi they are too scared to be open about it, some of them go as far as employing girlfriends to keep it secret. I don't want to do that," he said.
"I want to be able to go anywhere, with anyone, without the fear of being outed by the rag tops [newspapers] or someone with a camera phone. I truly believe that I need this to be in the open, which will hopefully make it easier for others to do the same."
However, the decision has left some online adamant that the Twitter account was a hoax all along.
Justin Fashanu remains the sole British player to have revealed that he was gay while still playing professionally in 1990. He took his own life in 1998.