On 14 January, the first openly gay men’s footballer Josh Cavallo was unveiled as an athlete ambassador for Ralph Lauren and launched the global campaign for the fashion brand’s new RLX Clarus polo shirt.
Supporting the PR, digital and social creative content, Adelaide United FC star Cavallo also demonstrated the look and performance qualities of the new RLX Clarus polo shirt during an exhibition tennis match with Aussie tennis star Sam Groth ahead of the 2022 Australian Open.
Today is the launch of a partnership with the @RalphLauren family and the introduction of the RLX CLARUS® Polo Shirt globally.
I’m here to bring change. Change to be free. pic.twitter.com/gwG908IPNL
— Josh Cavallo (@JoshuaCavallo) January 14, 2022
In the campaign launch PR, Cavallo stated that he was “extremely proud, happy and excited” to be himself and to sign on with the famous clothing brand.
“What makes me so honoured to team up with Ralph Lauren are the values that this brand strives to be,” Cavallo said. “Ralph Lauren strives for diversity, inclusion and respect for human rights across their business and in society so the connection with my coming out story and their values is something that attracted me. It doesn’t matter if you are gay or straight, black or white, they include everyone. For me it is more than a clothing brand, it is a family. I am really proud to represent them.”
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The endorser deal and launch campaign came 10 weeks after the 22-year-old, Adelaide United FC defender came out publicly via an Instagram post which went viral and which was sadly and shamefully followed by homophobic slurs aimed at the player during the following A-League match between Adelaide United FC and Melbourne Victory.
— Josh Cavallo (@JoshuaCavallo) October 27, 2021
There are currently no active players in elite European football who are currently out, a statistic which suggests that many of today’s gay athletes – like so many famous names who came before them such as Martina Navratilova and Greg Louganis – continue to fear the backlash from such a decision. Even openly gay Australian Olympic Matthew Mitcham struggled to find endorsements after his gold-medal-winning performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
However, hopefully Cavallo’s decision will help change things for the better and continue to follow in the footsteps of other current high profile LGBTQIA+ athletes (many of whom receive huge fan support and sponsorship deals) like Team USA footballer Megan Rapinoe and British Olympic diver Tom Daley.
Cavallo stated publicly that he is not concerned about potential future crowd outbursts and that he has already received overwhelming support from members of the public and loved ones.
“Unfortunately, as a footballer and a sports athlete you’re going to get hate regardless,” said Cavallo. “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.”
It was a pleasure to work with the @GQMagazine team on this cover.
Honoured to help the next generations become fearless. This world is for everyone
The latest magazine of @GQAustralia is out now – available from https://t.co/HsC3oQC5Jk pic.twitter.com/4jfJtF21Kt
— Josh Cavallo (@JoshuaCavallo) January 16, 2022
Ralph Lauren is also the official supplier of the Australian Open and the Polo shirt launch linked to the launch of its 2022 tournament uniforms.
Since 2005, we’ve had the honor of designing the official uniforms for all on-court tournament staff & ball-persons for two tennis Grand Slams — the US Open & Wimbledon
This year, we are excited to once again be part of the @AustralianOpen
Discover more: https://t.co/QEjEdDebJa pic.twitter.com/9g7a1DxQao
— Ralph Lauren (@RalphLauren) January 4, 2022
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