AFL player Mitch Brown says he was confronted about being bisexual in bathroom at Lady Gaga concert
"'Oh, so you’re just gay then,’” Brown recalled the media worker saying to him
By Aaron Sugg
Mitch Brown, who made history this year as the AFL’s first openly bisexual player, has spoken out about being confronted about his sexuality in a public bathroom at a Lady Gaga concert.
The former West Coast Eagles player publicly came out earlier this year, reflecting on the hyper-masculine culture of the AFL and the broader expectations placed on Australian men.
In a video posted to Instagram on Saturday (6 December), Brown recalled the incident where a member of “one of Australia’s biggest media organisations” questioned and disregarded his bisexuality.
“I don’t believe you’re bisexual” – Mitch Brown recalls the moment a woman working in media confronted him about his sexuality
He remembered being beckoned over by the woman, who said: “I just don’t believe you. I just don’t believe it. I don’t believe you’re bisexual.”
“’I need you to prove it to me,’” Brown claimed she said. “I was a bit thrown, a bit put off,” he recalled. the 36-year-old said he felt uncomfortable, noting this was the first time someone had directly challenged his sexuality in person, rather than on social media.
“I felt like I had to explain it, so I did my best,” Brown continued. “And then she goes, ‘Oh, so you’re just gay then,’” despite Brown attending the event with his female partner, Louisa Keck.
“This is just an example of why that fear still exists for me” – Brown added, coinciding with how long it took him to come out publicly as bisexual
“People ask me why I’ve been really apprehensive about talking to traditional football media, and this is just an example of why that fear still exists for me,” Brown added.
In the video’s caption, Brown wrote: “And people wonder why it’s taken 129 years…”, referring to the length of time that passed between the AFL’s founding and his coming-out announcement.
Followers were quick to flood the comments with messages of support. “Bi erasure is crazy. How on earth does someone ‘prove’ their sexuality, let alone in public? No one else can define anyone else’s sexuality,” one wrote.
Some followers also called on Brown to identify the media worker, saying they wanted to “boycott” her and urging the former AFL player to contact her employer to report the incident.
“There was never an opportunity to speak openly” – Brown on coming out as bisexual in the AFL
Coming out in an interview with The Daily Aus, Brown reflected on playing 94 games for West Coast before retiring in 2016, marking a decade in the sport.
“I played in the AFL for 10 years for the West Coast Eagles, and I’m a bisexual man,” he said. “There was never an opportunity to speak openly or explore your feelings or questions in a safe way.”
After coming out as bisexual, Brown reflected on the current state of LGBTQ+ visibility in sport, calling on the AFL to take action. He added that the league needs to embed inclusion “not just in words, but in culture, policies and everyday actions”.
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