THE BEEFING: The AFL vs homophobia

The AFL remains Australia’s most attended sport, drawing 8.4 million fans in 2024 alone, but the games history with homophobia has been back in the national spotlight.  

Over the past year and a half there have been six publicised incidences of homophobia within the league. And in the games 130-year history only one player has come out as openly bisexual or gay, Former West Coast Eagles defender Mitch Brown, making him the first current or former openly bisexual male AFL player.  

In this episode of The Beefing, Helen Smith unpacks the tension between AFL and it’s history of homophobia. Putting in question whether the code is enough to drive meaningful cultural change and implement targeted anti-discrimination programs. 

Audio of Mitch Brown thanks to the Daily Aus

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