Mitch Brown’s powerful decision to come out is a much-needed giant step forward for the AFL
Mitch Brown’s decision to come out is a defining moment for the AFL. Jay Clark writes, one week after a downgraded ban was handed to Izak Rankine, the ex-Eagle’s courage must be lauded.
The anxiety would have been crippling for Mitch Brown at times.
In the very masculine AFL locker room, Brown desperately hid his real self behind a mask he wore at the top level at West Coast for 10 years.
So when the conversation turned to what was happening after dark, the man from Ballarat just tried to laugh along.
But on the inside, the language which derided gay and bisexual men would have left a frightful knot in his stomach at best.
Awkwardly for the AFL, it’s the same kind of language Snoop Dogg used in that podcast last weekend about ‘real men’.
The same artist who will lead the grand final entertainment.
Countless others would have lived the same football experience as Brown over 129 years of AFL/VFL, and hoped one day for an environment much less shameful, and much more supportive than the one he lived.
“I remember two people having a conversation around how they would feel having a shower next to a gay man, and one of the players said, ‘I’d rather be in a cage full of lions than have a shower next to a gay man’,” Brown explained.
But on Wednesday, the same man who played 94 AFL games in the number 16 Eagles’ jumper took a defining step towards helping create the kind of setting and acceptance which encourages authenticity.
Many people will not care as well, in the firm belief what people do in their own private lives and their own private time is their business. And that is OK, too.
But the big picture and timing here is significant for the game.
Especially one week after the AFL downgraded the suspension to Adelaide superstar Izak Rankine for his homophobic slur on medical grounds in a move which was widely slammed as being unconvincingly lenient and inconsistent.
Was it zero tolerance towards homophobia? Not really.
So when Brown, 36, announced himself as the first bisexual man to play in the VFL /AFL, he shattered a glass ceiling which desperately needed to be broken.
One that will hopefully provide some strength and hope to those in the same position who want to be themselves, but know if they do come forward in the same manner, there is unfortunately some risk attached.
No one has come out before because of the burden. The attention and spotlight.
And the fear they would become a target.
What comments it would attract from across the boundary line.
They are real fears for the gay and bisexual men who currently play AFL.
Homophobia on the ground and in the stands is unacceptable in any form and an unwaveringly strong stand has to be taken to stamp it out regardless of “medical” grounds.
So when the AFL perhaps passed the buck somewhat on the responsibility it faced on Rankine, Brown this week took the opportunity to make an even more powerful stance on the future he said he wants for his kids.
He took a deep breath, openly admitted to the nerves he felt, but ultimately smiled through the interview with the look of a man who felt relieved to be his true self.
And while he will never truly know the uplifting impact on those he may never hear from or meet, it is clear many people will feel seen by his decision this week.
Brown was lauded by his ex-wife, his friends, family and former teammates, and football fans who importantly acknowledge his strength in stepping forward.
What it does is make it that little bit easier for the next man or woman to do the same.
And the person and people after that, taking some of the hurt and anguish out of it each time.
The great contradiction for our code is we openly celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community with Pride games, yet the current participants do not feel comfortable in stepping forward like Brown did.
Hopefully, that will change soon, if they feel comfortable and happy enough.
And Brown will have played no small part in that wall coming down.
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