Stephen Laybutt

Stephen John Laybutt (3 September 1977 – 13 January 2024) was an Australian professional soccer player who played as a defender. Laybutt came out as gay in 2021 and died by suicide in January 2024.

Early life and career Laybutt was born in Lithgow and played youth football at the Australian Institute of Sport before starting his senior career with Wollongong City in 1995. As well as playing for a number of clubs in the National Soccer League and Newcastle Jets in the A-League, Laybutt played professionally in Japan, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium. He retired from professional football in 2008.

In January 2008, Laybutt suffered an achilles tendon rupture, ruling him out for the remainder of the 2008–09 A-League.

Personal life and death Following his playing career, Laybutt came out as gay. As of 2021, he worked in the rehab unit at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney. There, he met patient Ian Pavey, to whom he donated a kidney. Police discovered Laybutt's body on 14 January 2024 in bushland near Cabarita Beach, New South Wales at age 46, determined to be self-inflicted. 2004 AFC–OFC Challenge Cup: runner-up 2001