8 hours ago
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Former West Coast star Mitch Brown has become the first AFL player to come out as bisexual, admitting he 'buried' questions about his sexuality during his decade in the league.
The 36-year-old made the landmark announcement with the simple but historic words, 'I played in the AFL for 10 years for the West Coast Eagles and I'm a bisexual man.'
Brown, who played 96 games for the club from 2007 to 2016, decided to come out just after the league was slammed for its handling of yet another instance of a player using a homophobic slur during a match, with Crows star Izak Rankine banned for four weeks as a result.
He told The Daily Aus that the 'hyper masculinity' in AFL teams made bringing up his true self impossible.
'In the locker room and in the spas, the chats were all geared around ‘who did everyone pick up on the weekend’? Or, you know, she's pretty hot," Brown said.
'It was never once an opportunity to speak openly or explore your feelings or questions in a safe way.
Mitch Brown (pictured) has become the first AFL/VFL player in the almost 130-year history of the league
Brown is pictured playing for the West Coast Eagles in 2013. He racked up 96 games for the club in his 10-year career
Brown's ex-wife Shae Bolton (pictured together) took to Instagram to reveal that she and their sons are proud of him for taking the historic step
'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's ex-wife Shae, with whom he has two boys, reacted to the news with a heartfelt post on Instagram that read, 'Our boys will be proud. I am,' accompanied by a heart-hands emoji.
He told Shae about his decision to go public before making the announcement and cried when she replied, 'Good luck this morning. I'm so proud of you and behind you all the way.
'This will make the world a slightly better place for our boy and young men in Australia ... This is living the values of the kind of man I want our boys to grow up to be.'
Brown's current partner, Lou, also voiced her pride in him for taking the step.
The Ballarat-born former star also explained that the effects of having to hide his true self for so long played a big role in his decision to retire.
'One of the biggest reasons I wanted to finish up playing AFL was to meet new people, to meet a diverse range of people, men and women, different cultural backgrounds, and I craved new conversations,' he said.
'I craved talking to someone and not being judged. I craved the ability to choose who I wanted to be around rather than to fit into a team.'
The former Eagle recalled asking a teammate how someone would know if they're gay or bisexual when he was 19 years old, and swearing never to bring up the topic again when he was greeted with laughter.
Brown kept hiding his sexual identity even after he left the AFL, saying bisexual men are often misunderstood and thought of as being 'too gay for straight spaces and too straight for gay spaces'.
More to come...
