Mitch Brown Offers Powerful Message of Love & Support To Next AFL Player Who Comes Out

Mitch Brown has sent a message straight from the heart to whoever the next AFL player is that comes out: you will not be alone.

Brown, who became the first openly bisexual player in the AFL‘s 129-year history in August, told triple j Hack he’ll be right by their side.

“For that person, you’re not alone. I’ll stand with you, I’ll walk with you, if that’s what it takes.”

The former West Coast Eagles defender told the show that the last fortnight has been chaotic, and he’s received a “small amount of hate”, but a lot of support too. “It’s certainly been a whirlwind, and overwhelmingly, I can say it’s so positive,” he said.

“I didn’t have a role model, so if I can be that role model for young people, it just warms my heart,” said Brown.

AFL clubs criticised for silence after Mitch Brown’s coming out

But Brown also has not shied away from calling out gaps, particularly the league’s clubs who have the power to celebrate inclusivity, but chose silence instead.

He expressed frustration at several AFL clubs — Collingwood, Geelong, Adelaide and Brisbane — for being slow to make any public statement in the wake of the seismic moment of the league’s first openly gay or bisexual player.

“[I had] frustrations around clubs staying silent and not acknowledging an inclusive environment,” he explained. “Visibility does matter.”

Brown explained to the hosts that when he called out those clubs, that’s when the major backlash began.

“As soon as I called out those clubs … that’s when I started to get the hate,” he said. “People who were maybe uncomfortable with me in the first place … they saw an opportunity there to hate on me for another reason, not just my sexuality.”

The footballer said that while he received a lot of support from players after he came out, he acknowledged that there would also be plenty of people not comfortable yet.

“Is it a fear of being associated with a queer person or a bisexual man?” he asked. “Or is it a fear of people thinking that you are gay or bisexual yourself?”

“It is fear … of what that might mean for your community that you’re selling videos to or marketing a football shoe to.”

But he explained that he is understanding it can take people time to feel comfortable, because it took him a long to accept his own sexuality, and speak about it openly.

“I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t allow people to take time for this to sink in… For me, to connect with my own identity and sense of self, it’s taken years.”

Mitch Brown acknowledges privilege as a straight-passing AFL player

Brown also acknowledged the privilege in his position: being a white, cisgender man who is straight-passing, he can walk down the street and generally not be on the receiving end of homophobic behaviour.

Amid the large amount of support he’s received, he said he’s felt “a strange feeling of guilt.”

“It’s a bit of an extreme sort of way to explain it, but it honestly feels like that,” he said.

“I have a beautiful partner who is a woman, and I can walk down the street and not have that casting eye or that sense of homophobic behaviour. Am I worthy of this and is this my place to be able to hold this position that I’ve had over the last two weeks?”

But even with privilege, he says, there remains work to be done, and he’s realistic that change takes time: the next queer AFL player might not even drafted yet.

“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.

But Brown hopes that by the time they reach the professional level, they won’t have to confront a seismic coming out moment. “There won’t be any coming out, there won’t be a huge reaction.”

Brown finishes by making a promise — to continue pushing for sport to be a safer place. “I don’t have the answers yet, but I won’t stop.”

Will Mitch Brown be at Sydney Mardi Gras? 

For all those hoping Mitch Brown will be attending the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras next year, for the first time as an openly bisexual man: you’re in luck.

“I’m ready,” laughed Brown.