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FORGOTTEN HISTORY: Mitch brown | History Defined

Leigh Ryswyk comes out as AFL’s first gay footballer: ‘We want to feel safe anywhere we go’

Ex-Brisbane Lions player says public reaction has ‘blown me away’

The Independent UK

Former Brisbane Lion Leigh Ryswyk becomes first AFL player to come out as gay

Forty-one-year-old – who played one game for the Lions before becoming SANFL star – comes out publicly on radio show GayFL

The Guardian - AU

Ex-Brisbane Lions Player Leigh Ryswyk Becomes The First AFL Player To Publicly Come Out As Gay

Mitch Brown, AJ Ogilvy and more athletes have congratulated the AFL star after his landmark announcement.

Pedestrian.tv

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Mitch Brown Gets Real About The ‘Cultural Problem’ Within The AFL: ‘It Became Too Unsafe’

“Within 130 years or more, for no one to publicly come out and speak — that’s a cultural problem.”

Pedestrian.tv

Travball emerges, athletics surges, Brisbane basks in success: Australia’s biggest sporting moments of 2025

An Ashes-defining intervention, an NRL showstopper, and new hope forced on the AFL are among our writers’ great moments in Australian sports this year

The Guardian - AU

Mitch Brown Claims A ‘Big Media’ Employee Asked Him To ‘Prove’ His Bisexuality

“I get confronted by a staff member of one of Australia's biggest media organisations and she goes, ‘I've been meaning to talk to you and can I just say this; I just don't believe you.’"

Pedestrian.tv

Mitch Brown Received Death Threats For Calling Out Geelong Cats’ Mad Monday Event

“Once you start to rock this precious hyper masculine game … the hate comes.”

Pedestrian.tv

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AFLW star calls for 'punching down' celebrations to end

Carlton's AFLW pioneer Darcy Vescio has called for players to stop "punching down" when dressing up for Mad Monday celebrations.

AAP

Comedian Josh Thomas Says Bailey Smith Mad Monday Post Was Not ‘Homophobic’

“We’ve got to stop calling people that aren’t homophobic, homophobic. It widens the divide and alienates people.”

Pedestrian.tv

Geelong Cats Apologise For Bailey Smith’s ‘Homophobic’ Stunt, Scrap Future Mad Mondays

"We will take this moment to further educate our people on expectations and club and community standards.”

Pedestrian.tv

We're sorry: Cats set to ditch Mad Monday shenanigans

Geelong have apologised for any offence caused by their off-the-mark Mad Monday celebrations, declaring future events won't continue in their current format.

AAP

Mitch Brown Slams Bailey Smith Over ‘Homophobic’ Brokeback Mountain Mad Monday Post

Mitch Brown has called out Bailey Smith over a Mad Monday Instagram post, labelling it homophobic after Geelong’s AFL Grand Final loss.

Pedestrian.tv

'Homophobic': star Cat clipped for Mad Monday post

Mitch Brown, the first AFL player to publicly reveal he is bisexual, was unimpressed after a controversial Instagram post out of Geelong's Mad Monday function.

AAP

Ex-AFL Boss Denies The League Is ‘Unsafe’ For Gay Players Amid Homophobia Reckoning

“I think that any player who feels it's necessary and important to reveal their sexuality will be embraced,” Andrew Demetriou said.

Pedestrian.tv

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Pedestrian.tv

Mitch Brown Responds To Criticism Over Calling Out AFL Clubs’ Silence After Coming Out

"As soon as I called out those clubs … that's when I started to get the hate.”

The Guardian - AU

PM says neo-Nazi giving speech from Victoria’s parliament steps ‘isn’t the Australian way’ – as it happened

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AAP

Time to make AFL safer for everyone: AFLPA president

Players' union president Darcy Moore hopes former player Mitch Brown coming out as bisexual can be an opportunity to shift the AFL's culture around homophobia.

Pedestrian.tv

Mitch Brown Calls Out AFL Clubs Who’ve Yet To Respond To His Landmark Coming Out

“I can’t help but think about how my younger self would have felt if my club didn’t show their support for something like this back when I was playing.”

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The Conversation

Mitch Brown’s bravery can change the score for LGBTIQA+ people – and the AFL’s fight against homophobia

It has been a challenging few weeks for both the AFL and LGBTQIA+ communities, with a sixth incident of homophobia in the men’s competition since the league’s crackdown on this damaging language.

The Guardian - AU

Mitch Brown’s words spoke to the queer footy community at a time when the AFL put it last

Community is everything in Australian rules football and Brown chose this moment to speak his truth so that others might draw strength from his experience

AAP

'Always improvement': coach reflects on Brown comments

Former West Coast player Mitch Brown is being lauded for revealing his bisexuality in what is being described as a landmark moment for the AFL.

AAP

AFLW great lauds Brown for revealing his sexuality

An AFLW star is among many to praise former West Coast utility Mitch Brown for being the first AFL player to publicly say he is bisexual.

The Independent UK

Aussie Rules football star makes history by coming out as bisexual

Mitch Brown said he had kept his sexuality secret in part because of a ‘hyper-masculine’ culture in AFL

The Guardian - AU

Mitch Brown’s coming out shows the AFL what courage and grace look like

In revealing why it took him so long to come out as bisexual, the former West Coast Eagle highlights just how far the sport has to go

The Independent UK

The first openly bisexual player in the Australian Football League is calling for a cultural change

Mitch Brown played for the West Coast Eagles for a decade and has become the first male player in the Australian Football League's history to publicly identify as bisexual

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