Former England and Liverpool striker Andy Carroll has shared a deeply traumatic experience in his new autobiography, Owning It, revealing that he was sexually assaulted in 2021 by a male celebrity.
The 37-year-old forward, who currently plays in non-league football for Dagenham & Redbridge, admitted that he debated for months with his publisher and partner, Lou Teasdale, over whether to include the chapter, ultimately deciding to speak out to help other survivors.
According to the book, the attack took place following a match while Carroll was playing for Newcastle United.
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His former partner had encouraged him to invite an acquaintance, described as a “celebrity mate” whom Carroll already found unsettling, to stay overnight at his home to watch a boxing match.
After having a few drinks, Carroll went to bed and was later jolted awake by the man attempting to sexually assault him under the bedsheets.
Carroll immediately threw the perpetrator out of the house, struck him when he attempted to force his way back inside, and called the police.
“Other things I’d quite like to forget but can’t,” the striker wrote. “Something happened to me a few years ago that was so traumatic I only decided to include it in this book at the very last minute.
“I was sexually assaulted, there I said it. Scary to even think about and only a few people knew about it before now. Me and Lou spent a lot of time discussing whether to mention it in this book or not. I avoided my publisher for so long that they probably suspected I got cold feet.
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“Scary to talk about but it’s made the person I am today as much as any of the good stuff. And if me talking about it helps just one person then good it will have been worth it.
“I grab hold of his feet and drag him out on the driveway. I go back inside, lock the door and call the police and the nanny. And then it suddenly occurs to me, what if I killed him?”
