"It's been a harrowing five weeks," says Ian Pearson-Brown. "I'm feeling very jaded, because a lot of the positive work we've done is all completely lost."
The Saudi Arabian-backed purchase of Newcastle United is considered by many to be the Premier League's most controversial takeover.
And Pearson-Brown felt conflicted when it was approved by the league in early October.
"The positive side was: 'Well, at least we're not for sale any more,'" he tells the BBC's LGBT Sport Podcast.
"So the relief was that we are no longer on this cliff edge."
But as fans gathered outside St James' Park to mark the end of the Mike Ashley era, Pearson-Brown knew the actions of United with Pride - the Newcastle United LGBTQ+ fans group he co-chairs - were about to go under the spotlight.