The GayFL - Or Not

[mike carey]

The AFL is apparently the only major sporting code in the world (well, it's major here) that at the senior level has never had a out gay male player, either current or retired. The women's AFL (AFLW) has many, and four non-binary players. At the turn of the century the Australian government served notice on all professional sporting codes that they needed to have policies and procedures in place to prevent discrimination in general, but including LGBTIQ+ discrimination, or face the possibility of litigation for failing to provide protection. The government wasn't talking about prosecutions but rather about private actions.

Apparently they have basically done nothing, as an ABC investigative journalist discovered, and they are incredibly defensive about it. The AFL director of inclusion (a first nations woman whose focus has been more on racism) was surprised at what the journalist had discovered. The result of the investigation was a 45 minute documentary aired on Monday night in their flagship current affairs program.

It's an interesting story to watch.