Mitch Brown slams Bailey Smith’s ‘homophobic’ Mad Monday act
The AFL’s first openly bisexual male player has slammed Geelong Cats superstar Bailey Smith over his Mad Monday antics.
Mitch Brown has slammed Bailey Smith and labelled his Mad Monday antics as “homophobic”.
Smith, the Geelong superstar who went missing in his team’s loss to Brisbane in the AFL Grand Final on Saturday, posted a Brokeback Mountain reference on Instagram.
Brown, the AFL’s first openly bisexual man, urged Geelong and its young player to “do better” saying the social media pictures were “homophobic” and made him a “loser”.
Smith posted the reference after arriving at the drinking session dressed as Brad Pitt’s character, Tristan Ludlow, from the western movie Legends of the Fall.
Brown also made a casual dig at Smith’s costume, saying that late West Australian actor Heath Ledger “is way hotter”.
“In all seriousness though, guys do better,” Brown wrote.
“Last time I checked, losing a grand final doesn’t make you gay, but being homophobic definitely makes you a loser.”
In a landmark moment for Aussie Rules, last month Brown made the brave decision to reveal that he is bisexual, earning widespread praise from the footy community.
Brown, who played 94 games for West Coast during his career, hopes there is now an environment where a gay AFL player feels comfortable to come out.
“It has played in my mind, simply because I’ve been asked a lot,” he told Triple J’s Hack about the discussion over who the next gay AFL player will be.
“I know they are out there. For that person, you’re not alone.
“I’ll stand with you, I’ll walk with you, if that’s what it takes.”
After 129 years of Australian rules, Brown knows it will be a gradual process and may take years for a gay player to come out.
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“That next player may not even be born yet; they may be just out of primary school or so young that they haven’t even kicked a football yet,” he said.
“But the environment that we can help to role model will ensure that they can be themselves from a young age, well before they even get drafted or recruited into the AFL.
“There won’t be any coming out, there won’t be a huge reaction.”
Originally published as Mitch Brown slams Bailey Smith’s ‘homophobic’ Mad Monday act
