The AFL is a long way behind many other major sporting codes in the world. The incidents over the past few months have brought to light a major issue within the league and the sport in general.
There has never been a male player openly come out as gay or bisexual, and the AFL is the only major professional sporting code where this is the case. While the AFLW has numerous players who are open about their sexuality, the men’s competition is very contrasting.
According to a study conducted last year by Out on the Fields, 73 per cent of amateur teenage footballers (males aged 16-20) reported hearing their teammates use homophobic slurs in the past month.
The football ‘culture’ that we are used to doesn’t exactly shout safety and inclusion, nor does it provide a welcoming environment for people to express their sexuality without fear of judgement.
The same study found that 33 per cent of gay kids who experience homophobia resort to self-harm. Feelings of isolation and depression are rampant in society and there are lots of football clubs that can do more to include the LGBTIQA+ community.
Suburban footballer and proud gay man, Michael O’Donnell has found this inclusion at his local club, UNSW's Eastern Suburbs Bulldogs. He coaches the women’s side and has found a safe space while making lifelong friends at the club. He has played with the Bulldogs for eight seasons. But it hasn’t always been like this.
O'Donnell quit footy at the age of just 13 because of homophobia in the game. It wasn't until after more than a decade had passed that he felt comfortable to return to the sport.
(Photo: Supplied)
O’Donnell has experienced the significant pain and distress that homophobic behaviour can cause. He was just 13 years old when he quit football. The game he had once loved, had left him feeling completely alone and alienated, not accepting him for the person he was.
The year was 2000 and the presence of homophobia was significant, whether that was around the school yard or within local football clubs. And as a young man struggling to hide his true identity, O’Donnell quickly realised that the football field and change rooms were not a safe environment for him.
“I’ve always said football is kind of like an extension of high school in any sense – you’re around your friends and people your own age on a daily basis,” he said.
“I think a lot of people hide aspects of themselves at high school, not just their sexuality, and often that continues when playing competitive team sport.
While O’Donnell conceded that he wasn’t going to make it to the elite level in football as a player, AFL was a game he loved and wanted to be around. However, without any role models or people he could relate to in the entire industry, he found it hard to stay involved – even in a journalistic capacity.
“It was incredibly difficult to not see people who were like me within the AFL,” he said.
“Through high school and even university where I studied journalism, my intention was to become an AFL-focused sports journalist.
“(But) realising there was no openly gay players or journalists was actually one of the reasons I, at the time, promised myself I would never come out.”
There is no lack of historical incidents of homophobia in the AFL, dating back to 2012 when St Kilda player Stephen Milne directed a homophobic slur towards Collingwood’s Heritier Lumumba. Or when Brian Taylor made a homophobic comment about a player on the Channel Seven coverage.
St Kilda's Stephen Milne was cited for a homophobic slur back in 2012.
(Photo: Getty Images Embed)
The AFL and its then CEO, Andrew Demetriou signed an agreement in 2014 pledging to “eradicate homophobia” and create an inclusive environment in clubs across the league.
A lot has changed since then, but homophobic language is still being used on the footy field at an alarming frequency. On the back of a spike in ‘homophobic’ incidents, is this issue getting worse or is it only now being picked up, and punished?
Just last year, Gillon McLachlan said that the pressure and weight of being the first male player had kept a number of gay players from coming out to the public.
“I am very comfortable there are gay male players, and I am very comfortable (in saying) they are known to their teammates,” he said.
O’Donnell said it was a shame that no AFL player had ever come out, but said he completely understood why this was the case.
“There is certainly a pressure in being the first, and that pressure continues to build over time,” he said.
“The idea that I would have been on national television and radio declaring my sexuality would have been completely incomprehensible to me as an 18-year-old.”
O'Donnell felt he didn't belong in the world of a football as a teenager.
(Photo: Supplied)
The AFL has cracked down on homophobic behaviour in 2024 handing out punishments for three separate incidents– each more severe than the previous.
North Melbourne coach, Alastair Clarkson received a $20,000 fine and a suspended two-match ban for a homophobic slur directed at an opposition player during a pre-season game.
Clarkson is known as one of the greatest coaches of all time, an icon of the game and a well-respected successful coach. The lenient punishment he received was heavily criticised, regarded as a missed opportunity to set a precedent.
Just a month later, the issue was back in the headlines as Port Adelaide forward, Jeremy Finlayson was reported and suspended for three weeks for a homophobic slur directed to an Essendon opponent. The language was picked up on an umpiring microphone and heard by opposition players.
This ban was said to be a ‘landmark penalty’ with the league stating that future incidents of this nature would continue to receive harsher bans and suspensions.
The most recent incident was just a few weeks following the previous as Gold Coast Suns defender, Wil Powell was suspended for five weeks for a slur used in a game against Brisbane.
Will Powell was banned for five weeks for a 'homophobic slur'.
(Photo: Getty Images Embed)
O’Donnell labelled the incidents as “disappointing”, before adding that he felt a stricter enforcement and classification of words as homophobic was responsible for the spike in incidents.
“The AFL have made their decision regarding fines and suspensions and have seemingly made it clear that this kind of language is unacceptable in the game,” he said.
“Clubs now have an incentive to ensure their players are educated on the issue, because honestly who wants to see their best players missing weeks of football because they’ve said something stupid on the field?”
Research highlights the fact that this language stems to off-field as well, with uneducated fans using harmful language, whether that is online or from the stands. 62 per cent of LGBTQ+ fans have witnessed verbal homophobia or transphobia at an AFL game.
What can be done to completely eradicate homophobia in football?
“I’m not sure anything can be done to completely stamp out this kind of language and behaviour,” O’Donnell said.
“Education and diversity within the AFL and local competitions will be key … but when words have a certain gravitas or power, they’re going to be used in heated situations until they are removed from the vernacular.”
Despite the existence of this harmful behaviour, O’Donnell said he was incredibly glad he made the decision to come back to football eight years ago and hoped other gay men could feel safe and welcome, like he had since he returned.
“I’m an example of someone who left the game because of homophobia, but I’m also an example of someone who has come back to the game and reaped the benefits of that,” he said.
“Team sport is an excellent way of bringing people together … no one should be missing out on that because of who they love.”
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