10s across the board

Soccer stud Zander Murray’s world tour continues with a full drag makeover & opening up about his gay epiphany

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Zander Murray says he publicly came out to make a difference. As the first out gay male pro soccer player in Scottish history, he broke barriers every time he stepped onto the pitch.

Though Murray retired from the sport in December, his mission lives on. Most recently, the forward underwent a full drag makeover alongside British queen Cherry West.

Posted on West’s YouTube channel, the 23-minute video encapsulates Murray’s full transformation. He reveals personal details about himself along the way, such as how playing The Sims helped ignite his gay awakening.

But more than anything, Murray appeared with West to combat stereotypes. As an athletic, cisgender man, Murray says he often hears from people about how he’s “one of the good ones.” The backhanded compliment insinuates that Murray adheres to heterosexual norms, unlike others in the LGBTQ+ community who dabble in gender fluidity.

The soccer vet wants to dispel that toxic notion once and for all. And there’s no better way to combat regressive social beliefs than with makeup and a wig!

“I always get the, ‘Oh Zander, you’re OK, you’re alright, but see all them dressing up in drag and being dead girly? Nah, not having that,’” he told PinkNews. “It’s up to me in that position to challenge that. Doing this collab, it’s just shown that I’m part of this community, whether you like it or not.”

Though Murray appears slightly nervous at the start of the segment, he quickly becomes comfortable dishing with West about a variety of topics. The adorable jock laments how he tried to suppress his femininity growing up, restoring to bullying other LGBTQ+ kids in school.

“I was a bully. It was a pure cutthroat environment,” he said.

Though Murray was excited when he arrived at his gay epiphany, he worried whether he would still be able to pursue pro soccer as his true self.

“Obviously a moment of pure joy but then obviously at that point I was playing professional academy football and obviously used to get in dressing rooms and I was like, ‘F*ck!’ I was terrified. I was like, ‘Oh my God, how can I be gay?,'” he told West.

Related:

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Clark is coming out with a new documentary about homophobia and soccer.

Given the dearth of out male pro soccer players–there are now only five–his coming out in September 2022 drew international headlines.

Though Murray says he was surprised at first, he’s leaned into his new role as a standard-bearer. He’s been incredibly visible over the last year-and-a-half, making numerous speeches and serving as the presenter of a TV documentary, Out on the Pitch, which explores homophobic attitudes in Scottish soccer.

Shortly after the doc premiered in the U.K., Murray received a text message from a youth soccer coach, who said his story inspired one of his own players to come out and live his truth.

That text remains pinned to the top of Murray’s Twitter to this day.

“I just think it’s amazing,” Murray told Outsports. “The coach said to me that this boy is so much more confident now. I’m like, ‘Bingo, that’s why I did it.’ It was the most awesome, powerful moment.”

Murray, 32, has made a habit of sharing notes he receives–both good and bad. One month after his big announcement, he posted a handwritten letter from a younger fan.

The fan said Murray is a “great footballer,” and one of his favorite athletes.

The importance of visibility was shown right there on white-lined paper.

More recently, Murray appears as part of British TV personality Rylan Clark’s documentary about anti-gay attitudes in soccer, Homophobia, Football and Me. The doc, which was just released, features Clark’s personal commentary and interviews with numerous Premier League and pro soccer players.

Murray says he was honored to be included in the project.

While public speaking and interviews are important, Murray also makes an effort to immerse himself in the greater LGBTQ+ community. He led the Edinburgh Pride Parade last summer, becoming the first ever British soccer player to lead a Pride march.

“I can’t fathom people who go against Pride events,” he told The Mirror. “People were just having a joyous, great time. Surely these draconian views of these religious groups, surely they look at that and go ‘wait a minute here, maybe it is real.’”

Murray went on to extol his experience. 

“What an incredible day & [honor] to lead the Pride Edinburgh march. Absolutely blown away, you were amazing!,” he posted on Instagram. “Promise you, you will see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

In an interview with ESPN, Murray said he decided to come out after participating in his first Pride event at age 30.

“Something happened, something just hit me, and I went, ‘What am I doing?,’” he said. “I could die tomorrow, and I’ve literally just lived a lie.”

It’s apparent Murray is now living life to the fullest. One of his biggest honors came last July, when he was honored at the Scottish Football Museum.

Once afraid to be himself, the heartthrob now spreads his message of inclusion around the world.

“Magical few months! To be able to travel the world and be an ambassador for something that negatively impacted my life until 29….madness that this is my life now,” he posted on Instagram.

Part of being an ambassador for change means stepping outside of one’s comfort zone. In the drag makeover video, Murray told Cherry he’s envious that she felt comfortable flaunting her excellent, flamboyant self as a teenager.

As the great RuPaul says, “If you don’t love yourself, how the hell are you gonna love somebody else?”

“Drag is an outlet for people to be their authentic self. I’m super glad I got the chance to do it!,” Murray told Outsports. “I am aware of being one of the very few gay footballers [and] that probably some people may disagree with this. But I hope it’s also changed some minds and perceptions. Drag is an art form and a way of life for people. It should be celebrated.”

Murray is worth celebrating, as is his drag persona, Miss De Bal. She looks stunning in her sparkly outfit, breastplates, heels and wigs.

“I feel pretty sexy,” said Murray.

We agree! He’s a beautiful man, both in and out of drag.

Murray’s message of inclusion is his sexiest trait of all.

Related:

German soccer great Thomas Hitzlsperger reflects on coming out publicly 10 years later

Hitzlsperger is the only out player in Premier League history.

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