“Why not?”: Former AFL Player Leigh Ryswyk Has Come Out As Gay

Former AFL player Leigh Ryswyk has come out as gay during an interview with GayFL, the JOY 94.9 football radio show, making him the first male AFL player, past or present, to come out as gay.

Speaking with hosts Chris and Brendan on GayFL, Leigh shared that he had come out to close friends around five years ago, but decided that now is the time to come out publicly. “To people who know me, my closest friends, this is not new; I’ve been out for five years now.”

Asked on-air “why now?” Ryswyk responded, “why not?”.

Originally from Victoria, Ryswyk moved to Queensland when he was young and was added to the Brisbane Lions squad for the 2005 season, where he played one match. Ryswyk then moved to South Australia where he played more than 200 matches for North Adelaide in the SANFL. He was inducted into the Queensland Football Hall of Fame.

 

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“There will be people though, if they do listen to this, it will be the first time they know about this; I’m a very private person, so it’s not all over my social media, and things like that, and that’s fine. It can be a bit of a shock to some people, they might not know what, but that’s life right? In the end, the people who are nearest and closest to me know, and that’s what’s most important,” sayd

Former AFL player Mitch Brown has congratulated Leigh, taking to Instagram, calling him an “absolutely legend”. Brown came out as bisexual in late 2025, becoming the league’s first openly bisexual past or present player.

“My deepest respect and congratulations to Leigh for sharing this part of himself with the world tonight.  It takes real courage to step forward and choose to live openly and honestly, especially when you come from an environment that hasn’t always made that easy. This is what bravery looks like.”

Brown goes on to say that “speaking their truth” like Ryswyk helps shift our idea of who a footballer is supposed to be.

“It makes the game more honest, more human, and more reflective of the communities who love it. There will be young players and kids hearing Leigh’s story who feel a little less alone because of it. That matters more than anything.”