FORMER West Coast player Mitch Brown has revealed he is bisexual, becoming the first male to play at AFL level to do so publicly.
In a moment labelled as "a step forward" for the AFL competition, Brown has spoken publicly for the first time about his sexuality, nine years after his retirement.
Brown played 94 games for the Eagles between 2007 and 2016, with his career hampered by several serious injuries.
He is the first male to play at AFL level to publicly reveal that he is gay or bisexual.
In an interview with The Daily Aus, Brown says he experienced homophobia during his time at the Eagles, which led to him hiding his true identity.
"There's been so many times in my life that I've seen things or heard things and not said anything, in fear of people thinking that I was gay or bisexual," he said.
He said the inability to be himself as an AFL player contributed to his decision to retire at the age of 28.
"I got to the end of my career, and I was asked to play on for a couple more years, and I was over it. I was done," he said.
"The fear was so strong. The fear of being caught out. You don't dare, scared of being outed or someone calling you gay. And then because I wasn't ready, I wasn't confident in my identity and who I was, my natural reaction would be to suppress that to project my masculinity even more."
It comes less than a week after Adelaide's Izak Rankine was suspended for using a homophobic slur towards an opponent.
In banning Rankine for four matches last week, AFL CEO Andrew Dillon labelled the Crows player's slur "offensive, hurtful and highly inappropriate" and said one incident of homophobia was one too many, while acknowledging the hurt it had caused to the LGBTQI+ community.
On Wednesday, Dillon praised Brown and said he hoped it would allow other players to be their authentic selves.
"Mitch has shown great courage today in sharing his story and personal journey. This is an important moment for him, and for our entire game," Dillon said.
"Today is a step forward, and building on Mitch’s story we hope that others feel encouraged to be their authentic selves and share their own journeys, and that these stories are met with support from teammates, clubs and the wider football community.
"The AFL will continue to partner with our clubs, our Pride and Allies groups and the LGBTQI+ community to drive and celebrate inclusion across both our AFL and AFLW competitions.
"Together, our commitment is to keep making football an inclusive and welcoming environment for everyone to thrive — and that work never stops."
Brown said he hopes his story can encourage other gay or bisexual players to be open about their sexuality.
"Hopefully this now provides [that space] for the second person,” he said.
"The reactions that I hope for are the ones I won't hear. They're the ones of those young men around Australia going, I feel seen, I feel a little bit safer, and I have a role model, albeit just ordinary old Mitch, a role model I can now look to.
"I don't believe that this is about me. It’s not about Mitch Brown being the first at all. For me, it's about sharing my experience so others can feel seen."