Twitter Account for Supposed Gay Soccer Star Goes Dark

A Twitter account teasing the coming-out of a champion soccer player has instead shut down.

Before the account @FootballerGay was apparently deactivated, a message made clear that a planned Wednesday press conference would not move forward, according to The Guardian.

"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 final tweet read. "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 tweet continued.

The account had much of the professional soccer world looking to big news on Wednesday. On July 6, a statement was released through the Twitter outlet from the player, who claimed to be an active professional player on a first-team squad, according to the U.K.'s Daily Mail.

That statement claimed the player had just recently come out to family, his manager, and the soccer club's chairman.

"They have assured me that they will do absolutely everything to support me in this process," the statement read.

The account later announced that a press conference would take place July 24 revealing the identity of the player, reports Gay Star News.

The story unfolded afterward largely on Twitter and outside mainstream news outlets, but clearly had the attention of the sports world. Among the more than 40,000 followers for the account were professional players Gary Lineker, Burton Albion, and Marvin Sordell.

Of course, the soccer world has seen players come out.

Robbie Rogers came out in 2013 after being released from Leeds United. He announced he would retire from the sport at the same time, but months later he returned, joining the roster for Major League Soccer's L.A. Galaxy and becoming the first male pro soccer player to be out while still active.

Justin Fashanu became the first pro soccer player to come out in retirement in 1990, and would remain the only male pro player to do even that for a quarter century.