| "I played in the AFL for 10 years, and I'm a bisexual man": Former West Coast player Mitch Brown has become the first openly bisexual man in the AFL's 129-year history
In 129 years of AFL, no male player, past or present, has ever publicly identified as gay or bisexual.
Today, that changes with former West Coast player Mitch Brown, who played 94 games for the Eagles from 2007-2016.
Here's his story, told exclusively to TDA.
THE DM
It was a direct message to TDA’s Instagram that broke more than a century of silence in Australian football.
"Hey Sam, I played in the AFL for 10 years for the West Coast Eagles, and I'm a bisexual man."
The message came from Mitch Brown, a former West Coast defender who had watched TDA's coverage of recent homophobic incidents in the AFL.
"It wasn't so much hours [of contemplation]. It was a moment in time for me, and it was seconds," Brown told TDA.
"I had this feeling of peace, but more importantly, comfort and confidence."
MITCH BROWN
Brown and his identical twin brother Nathan were born in Ballarat, Victoria.
Both twins were drafted to the AFL in 2006: Mitch to West Coast with pick 16, Nathan to Collingwood at pick 10.
Aged 17, Brown flew across the country to Perth, moving in with a host family and entering what he describes as a "hyper-masculine environment."
His decade-long career was marked by resilience through injuries, including two ACL reconstructions that cost him entire seasons. In 2012, he won West Coast's Chris Mainwaring Medal, an award given across sporting codes to the individual who makes the most outstanding contribution to a club, both on and off the field.
Brown played 94 games for the Eagles before being delisted in 2016.
THE WEIGHT OF HIDING
In 2007, at age 19, Brown tentatively asked a teammate about sexuality: "how do you know if you're gay, how do you know if you're bisexual?"
The response was laughter.
"It was almost like, 'that's a funny question. You're being funny, Mitch.' And then the conversation just rolled on. But it was made [into] a joke, and I remember how that made me feel, and I swore never to bring that up ever again."
He said he became “very, very good,” at hiding parts of himself.
“Not just about my sexuality, but… everything. My anxiety, my worries in life. I could bury them so deep," Brown said.
HOMOPHOBIA IN THE AFL
Brown described a culture of "hyper-masculinity" that made questioning sexuality impossible.
"In the locker room and in the spas, the chats were all geared around ‘who did everyone pick up on the weekend’? Or, you know, she's pretty hot," he said.
"It was never once an opportunity to speak openly or explore your feelings or questions in a safe way."
The culture extended beyond casual conversation to active hostility. Brown recalled sitting in a massage room next to six teammates when the topic of gay players arose.
"I remember two people having a conversation around how they would feel having a shower next to a gay man, and one of the players said, 'I'd rather be in a cage full of lions than have a shower next to a gay man,'" Brown said.
"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."
Over his career, Brown said "countless" homophobic comments were directed at him on the field — not because teammates suspected his sexuality, but because calling someone gay was considered the ultimate insult.
"When I was growing up at school, the word ‘gay’ was thrown around constantly… For a man in Australia, [it was seen as] probably the weakest thing you could be”.
THE DECISION TO RETIRE
By 2016, the weight of hiding had overcome a desire to continue in professional sport.
"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," Brown said.
While injuries played a role, Brown revealed that his sexuality was a "huge" factor in his decision to retire.
"One of the biggest reasons I wanted to finish up playing AFL was to meet new people, to meet a diverse range of people, men and women, different cultural backgrounds, and I craved new conversations. I craved talking to someone and not being judged. I craved the ability to choose who I wanted to be around rather than to fit into a team."
POST-FOOTBALL
Retirement began a years-long process of "deconstructing" the identity that had been imposed on him.
"If you said, 'Hey Mitch, who are you?' I'm a man. I'm strong. I'm a leader, and that was so concrete," he said.
"Even now to this day, it's been eight, nine years since I've finished playing football, I'm still deconstructing that, trying to connect to who I am."
The fear of discovery had been so strong during his playing days that even after retirement, Brown initially struggled to explore his identity.
"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."
BISEXUALITY
Brown identifies as bisexual — a sexuality he says exists on a spectrum and is often misunderstood.
"Your sexuality or being queer, for a man, only means you're either gay or you're not. There's no in-between," he said.
"Bisexuality is [believed to be] not a thing, it's [seen as] made up to cover gay men or straight-presenting gay men."
Brown acknowledged the "double rejection" that bisexual people can face, being "too gay for straight spaces and too straight for gay spaces."
He also addressed the stereotypes he expects to face, particularly around his former marriage to former netball player Shae Bolton and current relationship with a new female partner.
"There's a lot of assumptions out there… Being a bisexual man can look different and it does look different."
SUPPORT
In the lead-up to Brown’s interview, he informed Shae about his decision to go public, worried about how it might affect their two young sons, both under five.
Her response, shared via text message the morning of our interview, moved him to tears:
"Good luck this morning. I'm so proud of you and right behind you all the way. This will make the world a slightly better place for our boys and young men in Australia, hopefully old men too. This is living the values of the kind of man I want our boys to grow up to be. Men who care and are proud of who they are."
His current partner Lou was equally supportive.
"She goes, 'Hey Mitch, I'm so bloody proud of you.' This is my partner, who's a woman, holding my hand as we are walking to share my experience about being a bisexual man."
THE BURDEN OF BEING FIRST
In 2023, former AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said the first male player from the code to come out would carry a “burden”.
"I remember those comments, and the conversation in the locker room just exacerbated that fear even more if you're a gay man or a bisexual man sitting in that locker room," Brown said.
While acknowledging the easier position of speaking out as a retired player, Brown felt compelled to take on that burden.
"I'm in this position strong and comfortable to, as Gil McLachlan says, take the burden. And if someone needed to do it, I'm in the space to do it."
However, Brown insisted this isn't about him being first.
"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."
CURRENT PLAYERS
Brown believes there are currently gay and bisexual players in the AFL who remain closeted.
"There are currently gay and bisexual men playing in the AFL at the moment and in the past," he said, citing statistics and his own experiences of finding others who shared similar struggles.
His message to them is simple: "I see you and you are not alone."
RECENT INCIDENTS
Brown's decision to speak out came in the context of ongoing homophobic incidents in the AFL, including Adelaide Crows player Izak Rankine's recent four-match suspension.
Rather than focusing on punishment lengths, Brown wants systemic change.
"What matters to me most is a sense of change, a movement created where you can be anyone and feel like you can be anyone and be safe in any environment here in Australia."
He called on the AFL to celebrate positive role models rather than just punishing bad behaviour.
"My advice to the AFL would be, let's celebrate the players who may not be the most successful, but they're the most important players in our community, the ones who are walking down the street and portraying positive male role models all the time."
Brown also had a message for fans.
"If you can find it somewhere in your heart, whether you're sitting there watching football on the weekend or you're sitting next to your brother, to have a sense of empathy that hey, they might be that very person that might be suppressing feelings. They might be that person who is feeling so trapped and unhappy because they can't be who they are."
"That sense of empathy, even just a fraction, I think it'll make a huge difference."
WHAT'S NEXT?
Brown hopes his story will create the "safety, comfort, and space" for others to come forward.
"Hopefully this now provides [that space] for the second person.”
He's prepared for whatever reaction follows, supported by his family and community.
"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."
Written on August 27, 2025 by Sam Koslowski, Emma Gillespie & Orla Maher |
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