Mitch Brown calls Cornell 7 sexual assault case ‘appalling and devastating’
“Seven men are named in the lawsuit. I want to talk about the remaining men,” wrote Brown
By Aaron Sugg
Former Australian footballer Mitch Brown has spoken out about the sexual assault allegations involving Cornell University, calling them “appalling and devastating”.
He joins the likes of Heated Rivalry’s Hudson Williams, who called for the arrest of the seven men accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in 2024.
Seven men have been named in a lawsuit connected to the allegations, while Brown used his social media platform to draw attention to wider issues surrounding women’s safety and the role of bystanders.
Mitch Brown calls the Cornell allegations “appalling and devastating”
“The allegations coming out of Cornell University – of a woman being drugged and sexually assaulted by seven men – are appalling and devastating,” Brown wrote.
“But for women and people who care about women’s safety, the story is sadly not so surprising,” he continued.
The investigation centres on an alleged incident at Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity house in Ithaca, New York, on 19 October 2024.
The case
The woman, identified as Jane Doe in court documents, was 20 at the time. She filed a civil lawsuit against seven Chi Phi members, Cornell University, the fraternity, an Ithaca bar and others on 16 September.
The lawsuit alleges that a message was posted in a Snapchat group for Chi Phi members, inviting others to the room where Doe was allegedly being assaulted. It claims that additional men subsequently entered the room.
“Seven men are named in the lawsuit. I want to talk about the remaining men,” Brown wrote.
“If you’re a man in an all-male group chat and you’re horrified by this story, ask yourself honestly: What would I have done if someone messaged the group chat saying FREE P*SSY UPSTAIRS?”
Brown asks men to take accountability for their actions
Brown acknowledged that some men might never have gone upstairs, but questioned whether they would have intervened if their friends had and stopped the alleged assault.
He then drew attention to the wider issues of women’s safety and misogyny. “What about everything that happens long before something like this?” he wrote.
“Like when someone makes a joke in the GC about women, or sexual assault gets joked about or minimised. When someone sends something degrading or violent.”
He concluded by calling on men to take responsibility for challenging other men’s harmful behaviour. “Being a good man isn’t just knowing what you would never do. It’s speaking up when another man crosses the line.”
In August 2025, Brown came out as bisexual, making him the first publicly bisexual AFL player, past and present.