Social media sensation Scott O’Halloran has opened up on the secret relationship he had with an AFL player.
More widely known as Sassy Scott, the TikTok star revealed the romance with the former player lasted several years but came to an end due to “toxicity and homophobia”.
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While the relationship took place a long time ago, O’Halloran decided to open up on it in the wake of homophobic comments being made by Port Adelaide’s Jeremy Finlayson.
Finlayson was suspended for three games after he aimed a homophobic slur at an Essendon opponent in April.
On the latest episode of the Luke and Sassy Scott podcast, O’Halloran revealed the relationship but said the two were fearful of being seen in public together.
“I had a relationship that lasted about 3-4 years with an AFL football player,” O’Halloran said.
“I think I loved him. I don’t know if he loved me. We enjoyed one another’s company and confided so much in one another when we were both in the closet.
“We couldn’t even go out and get a latte together because of the sheer fear the both of us had of somebody pointing at the both of us saying ‘oh my god are you guys gay?’.
“But then there was this other side where we could scratch the surface of him being an AFL football player and a legend of the game and how scared he was to ever be found out for who he was, because of the homophobia in the game.
“The toxicity and homophobia is what ended our relationship. It was too much pressure on him. It was too much pressure on me.
O’Halloran appeared on the The Fox’s Fifi, Fev & Nick show where he spoke further on why he chose now to open up on the relationship.
“I have many, many years have sat with something very personal to me that I’ve never felt the need to share, it was something personal that existed between me and an AFL player, who is no longer playing anymore,” he said.
“We had a relationship for about 3-4 years. I want to make it very clear; I will never ever share their identity. No one’s job is to ever ‘out’ a person – so that’s not my goal in this.
“But when I saw and heard some homophobia, which happens a lot in the AFL, I just got very disappointed and very vocal about the AFL not supporting its code, its players, (and) its employees. So, I’ve decided to share the story about the relationship on today’s podcast.”
O’Halloran was vocal in the wake of Port Adelaide’s Jeremy Finlayson delivering a homophobic slur to an Essendon player.
After taking aim at the league, he said he isn’t surprised no player has come out after the vitriol he received when speaking up.
“The problem I find with this is the responsibility lies with the employer to look after and support their entire organisation,” he said.
“So, when I saw the hate that came my way, it just speaks volumes as to why no AFL player feels ready to come out.
“I know that if a gay AFL player would have seen the hate that I received for talking about it, would have gone, ‘Oh, hell no, it’s not ready for someone to come out.’ It’s sad.”
While O’Halloran is adamant on keeping the identity of the former player secret, he said his teammates were aware of the relationship.
“They definitely knew, and he had some really good mates. He made that really clear,” he said.
“We used to share the deepest, darkest connection but we couldn’t ever share them with anybody else because he was so scared of the homophobia and the lack of support from the community, and from the AFL.
“And when I spoke about it two, three weeks ago, what did I experience? Nothing but hate.”