Former Brisbane Lions player Leigh Ryswyk says the support he has received after becoming the first AFL player to come out as gay has “blown me away”.<\/p>\n
Ryswyk publicly came out as gay yesterday during an interview on Melbourne FM station Joy 94.9, but said his friends had known for several years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 41-year-old spoke on ABC 891 Adelaide this morning and said the reaction he had received since coming out had been overwhelming.<\/p>\n
Former Brisbane Lion becomes first openly gay AFL player<\/a><\/p>\n Former Brisbane Lions player Leigh Ryswyk has become the first openly gay AFL player, past or present.\u00a0<\/p>\n “[It] has been amazing to be honest, overwhelming support, love, messages from people from everywhere. I can’t lie, it’s blown me away,” he said.<\/p>\n Ryswyk played one AFL match for the Brisbane Lions in 2005, followed by a successful career in the SANFL where he played more than 200 matches for North Adelaide.\u00a0<\/p>\n Asked if he believed he could have come out while still in the AFL, Ryswyk said he had not been ready to make that public at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Different things happen within your life and you just move forward,” he said.<\/p>\n “When I was ready, I was ready and that’s now.”<\/p>\n Ryswyk said he hoped his story could help others sportsmen feel comfortable to “be themselves” and that there would come a time in society when announcing a person’s sexuality would not be necessary.<\/p>\n Former West Coast defender Mitch Brown expressed similar sentiments when he became the first openly bisexual man in AFL history<\/a> last year, saying he hoped his story would create the “safety, comfort, and space” for others to come forward.<\/p>\n