By Staff reporters
AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan says there are gay AFL players who are out to their teammates, but have chosen not to come out publicly to avoid the burden that would come with being the first.
Speaking at a Leadership Matters lunch in Perth on Monday, McLachlan said AFLW players, many of whom are openly gay, had safety in numbers. There are no current men’s players who have publicly declared that they are gay.
AFL chief Gillon McLachlan.Credit:AFL Photos
“The first thing I’d say is, I am very comfortable there are gay male players and I am very comfortable [saying that] they are known to their teammates,” McLachlan said.
“What they are choosing is to not be the first person.
“The female cohort [AFLW] came out at once, they had safety in numbers, there was no first.
“So the pressure and the weight on that person being the first AFL player who comes out and plays as an out gay man … that weight, frankly I can understand why they would choose not to have to carry that burden around forever.
“And I don’t think they need to, and I think people should live their lives how they want to live [them].”
The AFLW competition has a pride round, but there is no corresponding round in the men’s season. The AFL has not ruled it out, but has no immediate plans to add to the themed rounds already in place. There is an annual pride game between St Kilda and Sydney’s men’s teams.
North Melbourne AFLW captain Emma Kearney told The Age last year that some clubs are more diverse and accepting than others, and not every locker room would be a comfortable place for a gay man.
“There’s a younger generation of players who are starting to become more accepting. But I think as a whole, particularly in the AFL men’s space, I don’t think there’s an environment where gay [male] players can be their true selves,” said Kearney, who came out publicly in 2021.
“Whether it’s fear of hate from the players, or more so fear of the discrimination they’ll face in being one of the first gay athletes, and the hate on their social media accounts as a result.”
Kearney weighed her privacy against the influence her coming-out might have on younger girls and women grappling with their sexuality.
“Before that [coming out], my family and friends knew. Teammates knew. But I wasn’t comfortable having the whole world know. I didn’t feel like it was their business. But for me, it was more a matter of, if I come out, this is the impact I potentially can have,” she said.
“But it’s amplified even more as a male footballer when there’s more media attention, more social media, more followers, all that sort of stuff. Potentially, they would think it’s actually not worth it.”
A-League player Josh Cavallo publicly came out in 2021.Credit:Getty Images
In 2021, A-League player Josh Cavallo became the first active top-flight male professional footballer in the world to come out as gay. There was an outpouring of love and support for Cavallo from around the world, but little more than two months later, he was the target of homophobic slurs from over the fence, death threats and “hateful and hurtful messages” on social media.
In November last year, Melbourne United basketballer Isaac Humphries came out as the first openly gay man to play in the National Basketball League.
