The AFL industry needs to use Mitch Brown’s coming out as an opportunity to “shift culture” and genuinely tackle homophobia, the AFL Players’ Association president Darcy Moore says.

On Wednesday, Brown, who played 94 games for West Coast, became the first past or present men’s AFL player to come out as bisexual.

No AFL player had previously come out as gay or bisexual.

“Firstly it was just tremendously courageous,” said Moore, the Collingwood captain.

“It’s such an inspiring story for him to be so open and so brave like that. I think it’s so important.

“There’s a lot to learn from Mitch’s story and for him to share that is a real opportunity for us going forward to shift culture and see some change in the industry.

“Clearly the amount of on-field incidents over the last few years shows that we do still have an issue and as a Players’ Association we’ve been advocating for a long time to work side by side with the league to help move the needle on homophobia in the game and making the game safer and more inclusive for everyone.

“I’m confident that with these recent events we can do that.”

Brown’s announcement came days after Adelaide star Izak Rankine was banned for four matches for using a homophobic slur, the latest of several such incidents in recent years.

Darcy Moore speaks during the 2025 AFL Awards in Melbourne. Photograph: Michael Willson/AFL Photos/Getty Images

Moore acknowledged that as AFLPA president he needed to support and advocate for all players in such situations, including Rankine.

“But at the end of the day it’s very, very clear when a red line is crossed and what is right and what is not welcome in our industry,” he added.

“It’s pretty emphatic that homophobic slurs are not welcome in our industry. In that sense, it’s pretty clear.”

Moore wouldn’t be drawn on whether the AFL environment was safer now than when Brown was playing between 2007 and 2016.

skip past newsletter promotion

Sign up to From the Pocket: AFL Weekly

Jonathan Horn brings expert analysis on the week’s biggest AFL stories

Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

“What I think is really important is answering the call a little bit to move the needle on culture,” he said.

“It’s on all of us to make the industry safer.

“As a Players’ Association we’re going to keep working with the AFL to do that.

“We want to see action, we want to see policy change, we want to see systems thinking about shifting it for sure.”

Moore’s Magpies teammate Jack Crisp hoped Brown’s actions could help more players be themselves going forward.

“We’ve been the only sport globally that didn’t have someone who was bisexual or gay to come out and speak publicly,” Crisp said.

“It’s probably a big weight on the shoulders, and now that Mitch has done that it’s awesome and it’s going to be great to see what happens in this space in the future.

“It’s only going to be for the best. It’s fantastic for him to speak up and do that and it’s going to make a lot of other people feel comfortable, I guess, as well.”