ADAM GOODES, THE AFL, RACISM, HOMOPHOBIA - AND EVERYTHING ELSE IN BETWEEN

How much longer are those who run the AFL going to get away with the unpleasant circumstances surrounding the Adam Goodes affair which ruined his playing career and set a precedent for other players of colour to feel that they are not welcome in the AFL?

How many gay players have been prevented from being themselves because of the ever present homophobia in AFL administration?

If it hadn't been for the release of the film about the Adam Goodes story, nothing would ever have been done to address the issue of racism in the organisation.

The period we are living in is the 21st century, yet in some ways we are no better off than we were in the last century and the preceding ones.

I am not a sport lover, but I am very much against racism, homophobia and extreme hate in all its many forms.

Of course we know that the government aids and abets all of these issues because our governments still operate on the divide and rule principle.

It has got to stop and it has got to be stopped.

EDDIE MCGUIRE HOMOPHOBIA IGNORED IN LATEST OUTBURSTS

EDDIE MCGUIRE - HOMOPHOBIA IGNORED BY LATEST MSM AND AFL ATTACK

You can be sure of Eddie's supporters when Jeff Kennett and Julie Bishop come out in his support for his latest behaviour.

Racism and sexism are bad enough but this latest bout of misogyny  is going over the top.

However, in their haste to excuse his behaviour - the AFL is the prime offender - they all forget that McGuire's homophobia is out there with the worst of the others and he needs to be criticised for all at the same time.

The latest attack by McGuire and his friends on Caroline Wilson shows how correct she must be in hitting the raw spots of their actions and utterances.

It really is time that some of those out there in the big real world did something to curb these people who seem to believe they can get away with saying and doing anything they want to to upset the world at large.

Don't ignore the issue and don't forget about it.

Some items from the past reflecting McGuire's ongoing attacks on various groups he dislikes:

2005:

 JOHN LAWS, STEVE PRICE, SAM NEWMAN - HOMOPHOBIA ON AIR: There have been a few arguments about these three people in the gay media. It is being suggested that they are entertainers and they say what they do in order to create controversy for their programmes, sponsors, radio and/or television stations in order to draw in listeners/viewers. These sorts of discussions are flawed because there are anti-vilification laws in many states in Australia. The homophobic attacks by Laws, Price and Newman result in abuse, violence and often worse because the people perpetrating these assaults believe they have community support for what they have done which is why there are anti-vilification laws. Often this has proved to be the case when some assaults and murders have gone to trial, only to have cases dismissed or treated lightly due to “panic defence” and similar arguments being put forward. Members of the glt communities must protest and continue protesting, to stop these attacks on our human rights, attacks which, if carried out on heterosexuals, would lead to immediate outcries from the community at large!

Apart from John Laws, Steve Price and  Sam Newman, dating back to last year and early this year, the most recent “on air” manifestations have come from Eddie Maguire of the Nine Network, and  also Network Ten which has a programme called Big Brother, both programmes of which went to air on Monday 18 July 2005 with “Nancy Boy”, “Poofta and Poof” expressions being used repeatedly. These programmes were followed by the 60Minutes Channel 9 programme on 24 July 2005.

 2008:

While the AFL is dragging its heels on this issue, other members of the football fraternity are adamant that the sport has a moral obligation to tackle sexuality-based discrimination. One such man is Eddie McGuire, the influential President of the Collingwood Football Club.
“The one thing that we are is the club for anyone who feels disassociated. We don’t care what your race, religion, sex or sexual orientation is - we believe absolutely in tolerance and respect and empathy,” McGuire tells MCV.
“We won’t tolerate – as long as I’m president of the club anyway – we won’t tolerate any form of discrimination.”
In terms of fighting homophobia, the Collingwood President compares the issue to the AFL’s successful battle to eliminate racism from the game.
“I refer it back to the same principles as tackling racial vilification – when we started to tackle racism, I had a lot of people come up to me and say ‘Thank god we’re doing this: I used to shout racial abuse because I thought it was what you were supposed to do, but I didn’t really believe it’. It’s the same classic pack mentality in regards to sexual orientation, and football should be leading the way in that regard,” McGuire concludes.
MCV editor Richard Watts was founder of the Collingwood supporters club the Pink Magpies.

The above items are from: www.red-jos.net/homopho7.htm

  

2010:


Crikey.com had this gem on 18 February 2010, the day before The Age published the story:

Eddie and Mick feel the heat in Vancouver gay row

Andrew Crook writes:

EDDIE MCGUIRE, MICK MOLLOY, NINE NETWORK

Channel Nine has been hit with a blizzard of complaints over its Winter Olympics coverage, with host Eddie McGuire and Melbourne comedian Mick Molloy in the firing line this morning over "h-mophobic" comments targeting figure skating champion Johnny Weir.
johnny Last night, during Nine's primetime "highlights package", Eddie and sidekick Mick decided to whip out the schoolboy sniggering as they gave their considered assessments of Weir's Vancouver routine. The graceful Weir, who has not formally "outed" himself, appeared to be too much for the duo to bear. Let's go to the transcript. (We'd go to the tape, but copyright issues mean we'd be stuck in the courts for decades. You can see footage of Weir skating to Lady Gaga here).
EDDIE MCGUIRE: ...what about the fashion at the ice skating?
... MICK MOLLOY: They don't leave anything in the locker room those blokes.
EDDIE: They leave nothing...
MICK: When they get out there...
EDDIE: They don't leave anything in the closet either do they? [Laughs].
MICK: They [laughs], well they -- careful you'll get yourself into trouble there...
EDDIE: Sorry mate.
But the daring duo weren't finished.
MICK: Look at this guy, it was like one of those fake tuxedos that you -- even Prince saw that and went, oh hang on, you can't go out wearing that. Oh look out, the hay seed look's in this year. What is that?
EDDIE: A bit of broke back?
MICK: A bit of Brokeback Mountain exercise. You can't wear it. They're very flamboyant, they love a bit of colour as we said.
In the minutes after the exchange, Twitter lit up in anger, with a torrent of criticism demanding McGuire be booted, alongside a number of other general gripes over the Footy Show-style jocularity and gratuitous repeats that have dominated Nine's coverage.
* @Shhhannon Just saw Eddie McGuire step in it with an inappropriate comment about a male ice-skater. Watch this space for controversy!
* @henrys_creek If Eddie McGuire wasn't enough of a w-nker, now makes quite a h-mophobic quip with Johnny Weir. Bastard.
* @bottled_love: Oh haha.... let's make jokes about the male figure skaters being gay... groundbreaking televisual wit right there Eddie McGuire
* @linclefevre Go on Eddie McGuire. Make some more gay jokes. Dick.
* @nilesedge Ugggh who let Eddie mcguire near the winter olympics?? He's a f-cking football yob and that's it
* @dominiquelam Eddie McGuire you are such a douche bag. One rich douche bag.
* @abbiemc OMG Eddie McGuire. "they don't leave much in the closet" "brokeback mountain" SHUT UP. I hope there are complaints. Many.
* @Selenadover OMG, did Eddie McGuire just suggest Johnny Weir is less than manly?
* @chicachow Can't decide what he finds more offensive: channel nine's vaguely ho-ophobic figure skating commentating or Eddie mcguire's face.
* @ozreedgal: eddie mcguire has made a number of little digs about competitors' s-xuality since I've been watching 2night. He's obsessed #olympics.
The anger promptly spread to Facebook, with a group "Eddie Mcguire is ruining the 2010 Winter Olympics coverage" bursting this morning with anti-Eddie vitriol. The Facebook page has said that it has submitted several formal complaint letters to the relevent department at Channel Nine.
Twitterers also pointed to "patronising" interviews McGuire has conducted with Winter Olympics superstars, including female figure skater Katarina Witt, where Witt's 1998 Playboy front cover was dredged up again to her visible dismay.
Nine paid about $100 million alongside broadcast partners Foxtel for the TV rights to the 2010 and 2012 games. But the ratings have been disappointing, with the network coming in third last night behind Seven's Gangs of Oz and Ten's So You Think You Can Dance Australia.
There is also talk that the games themselves are also in trouble: this Reuters article ("Vancouver's Games in danger of sinking into meltwater") wraps the bad news so far, with the opening-day death of Nodar Kumaritashvili snowballing into problems over spectator safety concerns, a lack of the white stuff and protests over the millions wasted while Vancouver struggles with the social problems of its Downtown Eastside slum area.
McGuire has continued with his Triple M breakfast radio slot from Vancouver, phoning in the banter each North American afternoon.
Send your tips to boss@crikey.com.au or submit them anonymously here.
And then this letter in The Age on 19 February 2010:

Homophobic slurs

OVER the first five minutes of Vancouver coverage that I saw on Wednesday night, I listened to Eddie McGuire and Mick Molloy make numerous offensive comments, most of which linked male ice-skaters and homosexuality, but also covered matters such as the ''redneck'' sport of curling. This disgusting display of ''Olympic coverage'' culminated in a comment about male ice-skaters bringing their own pillows, which, to my amazement, was delivered immediately after an apology made by Mr Molloy about an offensive comment he'd made on a previous night.
This was not relevant coverage of the winter Olympics, it wasn't even funny; it was a dialogue between two men lacking intelligence, professionalism and understanding. If these TV personalities can only offer poor journalism littered with homophobia and superiority, then perhaps we need to find new commentators. Perhaps someone who knows a thing or two about winter sports.
Fontaine Dunstan, Ripponlea

The above item is from:
www.red-jos.net/homopho8.htm    

AFL AND HOMOPHOBIA or HOMOPHOBIA AND AFL

As I have said in previous postings, the AFL must have somewhere in the region of 800 to 1200 players and other attached personnel involved with all the teams around Australia.

It is impossible that there are no gay people involved with the sport.

Hollywood - yes, that Hollywood -  from its early days in the 1920s to the present day has remained homophobic and has gone to whatever it takes to stop public acknowledgement of gay and lesbian actors and ancilliary people around the place. No greater glaring example in Hollywood exists than the Rock Hudson story, but there are so many others. Rumour persists that if you are openly homosexual in Hollywood, well forget it, there is no future for you there.

However there are a few actors who have defied the threat and have been out and active in their support of anti-homophobia.

Back to AFL and where is even one token gay who is out in the public arena in any of the 17 or 18 team at present in the national game?

The AFL management have, for the last several years stated that they support the approach to anti-homophobia, but words speak louder than deeds and there is no change.

Let there be a gay team of AFL accepted in the code and then have the other teams make of it what they will. We will then see the whole problem out in the open!

AFL KNOWS ABOUT BOYS, NOW LEARNING ABOUT GIRLS, NEVER HEARD ABOUT HOMOSEXUALS!

The AFL seems to have discovered that half - that is about 50% - of the population, consists of girls, and the other half - or about 50% consists of boys.

What the AFL is unable to discover is that people in both these groups happen to be gay, lesbian, transgender and all other variations in between.

What the AFL is incapable of discovering is that they are also known as human beings and what the AFL is showing is human rights abuses in an ongoing process.

What it has not yet been able to show is that its homophobia shows no signs of abating and it seems it has no will to open its doors to "the other".

We are now living - and loving - in the 21st century where some of the world has become fairly civilised - and I use the word fairly advisedly, because even amongst these communities pockets of hate continue to plague us endlessly.

It is ridiculous that the AFL - and all other sporting codes in Australia - are still riddled with homophobia.

Do they think that homosexuals are going to attack their playmates in the middle of matches in order to have sex with them?

What are their problems and when are they going to wake up?

HOMOEROTIC? HOMOPHOBIC? HYPOCRITICAL? - AFL!

There are many thousands of people who are interested in sport. There are many thousands of people who watch sport. There are many thousands of people who play sport.

In all these thousands of people it is not possible according to the laws of probability that there are not several gay players involved on all sides of sport.

Despite all efforts over the years to change the climate of fear and hatred and homophobia existing in all sorts of sports at all levels, the Australian Football League - AFL - has not yet had any out or outed players in its ranks.

This defies statistics and the hopes and wishes of many players who are still locked in and hidden away in closets because there is too much fear to declare themselves in the public arena for fear of the consequences.

Brave will the first player be who shows he is prepared to weather the storm and show the world what gays in footy look like.

But, as the saying goes with so many aspects of our lives, "DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH!"

.........and enjoy the eye candy these homoerotic photos from our daily papers illustrate!

HOMOEROTICISM, HOMOPHOBIA, AFL, CRICKET, ALL SPORTS

These are recent pictures from newspapers showing scenes from AFL and cricket matches in Australia and the UK.

What they continue to illustrate is that homoeroticism is very real in these spoprts as well as most other sports.

Body contacts show that many sports people do not shy away with body contacts with same-sex people and in fact seem to derive a great deal of pleasure from the contacts.

It continues to be strange that the attitudes projected by the people who control these sports continue to be as homophobic as they are in which the culture of homophobia seems to be predominant, yet many players are still in the closet and are afraid to publicly declare their homosexuality and ultimately be role models for young people still afraid of their sexuality because of society's responses to them.

There is enough homophobia inherent in many countries around the world for Australia to actually set an example about how NOT to be homophobic and develop a culture of support and encouragement for young people to be themselves.

But of course that requires commitment from the sporting bodies and it is just too much effort for them.

EDDIE MCGUIRE - RACISM, SEXISM, HOMOPHOBIA, AFL, ALEX DEMITRIOU

Sport is the main religion in Victoria and nowhere more so than in Melbourne, where the ground these people walk on is considered holier than ground which has been so-called sanctified.

Homo-eroticism is the hallmark of "footy" and yet not one AFL player has dared to expose himself to the homophobic world of hetero players and the AFL sport administrators.

There must be countless dozens of gay players but with people like Eddie McGuire making disparaging remarks about gay men there is no incentive for gay AFL players to show themselves.

Sexism in the daily life of Australia is self-evident at every turn of our existence and is mostly so obvious that it doesn't need too much to explain its manifestations in the world around us.

Racism, on the other hand, is inborn in our societies and nowhere more so than in the domineering, dominating aspects of white male sexist homophobic actions which at times breaks out in strange ways to the detriment of all involved.

Eddie McGuire's outburst, stupid as it was, hurtful as it was, racist as it was, was no isolated incident. We are finding out every day how racist Australia is, nowhere more so than in the police forces around the country.

Who are the most incarcerated people in the country's prisons? Whose incarceration rates have risen alarmingly since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (1987-1991) some many years ago with so many recommendations which have been totally ignored?

Is this an illustration of racism in Australian society? Of course it is and our police and justice systems encourage and support this inequity and injustice because in our growing unequal society the proportion of disadvantaged grows exponentially and the advantaged grow proportionally richer and more privileged.

Andrew Demitriou gave Eddie McGuire a slap across the wrist with an invisible feather and McGuire was left free to carry on all activities as before. So, racist, sexist, homophobic - no change in AFL culture, no change in societal culture and we all carry on as before.

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE.............!

'I DIDN'T KNOW ANY FOOTBALLERS WHO WERE GAY'

This article in the Sunday Age on 9 September 2012 has been followed up by a petition on Change.org which will be here first, followed by the newspaper article:

(1)Petition:

JASON BALL'S CHANGE.ORG PETITION

(2)newspaper article:

'I didn't know any footballers who were gay'

September 9, 2012


By Jill Stark

Out and proud: Yarra Valley footballer Jason Ball, third from left, wants the AFL to air anti-homophobia videos at the grand final this month. Photo: Ken Irwin

SOMETIMES he'd say he had a girlfriend. In the world of Aussie rules football, Jason Ball thought he had to play up his ''blokeyness''. When teammates sledged opposition players, calling them ''homo'' or ''fag'', he'd pretend not to care.

Inside the footy club where he'd played since he was five, nobody knew he was gay.
''It was the one place I never thought I'd be able to come out. Ever. It just felt like a really hostile environment. I worried I'd be bullied, maybe I'd get kicked out of the side, maybe the opposition would treat me differently or I'd get abuse [from supporters] over the fence,'' he told The Sunday Age. ''I didn't know any footballers who were gay, so I could only assume the worst, and it scared me.''

The 24-year-old, who plays for Yarra Glen seniors in the Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League, is a rare voice in a football world that gay groups say is struggling to come to terms with homosexuality in its ranks.

Illustration: Matt Golding.

While such groups agree sexuality is a private matter, they say it is significant that no AFL players have revealed their homosexuality.

For Ball, publicly coming out was unnecessary. His teammates figured it out and were supportive. The homophobic language stopped. ''It was like they could see those words have an effect on people because it was hurting me, one of their mates.''

Ball believes there are hundreds, maybe thousands of others like him playing in minor leagues, and professionally, who feel too isolated to reveal their sexuality. There are rumours that a TV network has offered a gay AFL player a six-figure sum to be the first footballer to come out.

Today, backed by online-petition movement Change.org, Ball will launch a campaign urging the league to air anti-homophobia videos at the MCG during this month's grand final. He also wants the AFL to stage a ''Pride'' round next season to celebrate sexual diversity.

Beyondblue chairman Jeff Kennett, who last week launched a campaign highlighting the mental health impact of homophobia, backed Ball's petition. He told The Sunday Age he spoke privately with AFL boss Andrew Demetriou last week, urging him to do more to tackle the problem in the game.

''Beyondblue has a relationship with the AFL anyway, and Andrew and I have been discussing some ideas that have not been done before for next year, which will be about sexuality discrimination,'' Mr Kennett said. ''This young man really deserves to be congratulated because there will be many of his fellow footballers who are in exactly the same position but have been worried about public pressure and therefore kept their sexuality to themselves.''

It comes after the AFL last month wrote a letter of support for ''No to Homophobia'' - a campaign run by gay rights and social justice groups - but were criticised for not doing more.

The fact St Kilda's Stephen Milne escaped with a $3000 fine and an education course rather than a suspension, after calling Collingwood defender Harry O'Brien a ''f---ing homo'', implied that sexual vilification was treated less seriously than other forms of discrimination, Ball said.

''At high school I got picked on for being gay and those words were used to make me feel small and worthless. If you look at rates of suicide, self-harm and depression for gay kids, this is a serious issue. I was fine coming out to my school friends and my family but I was terrified coming out to my football team. That makes it the AFL's problem because this culture is in their sport.''

Some have questioned whether the AFL should be responsible for taking a lead role on every major social issue.

But Ball argues that as long as our cultural life is viewed through the prism of football, the AFL has a greater role to play than most in ''changing hearts and minds''.

''It's no wonder that no gay player at a professional level would come out when the AFL is not working as it could to create a more positive and inclusive environment for that to happen. I think the players are ready. The clubs are ready. But we just need the AFL to lead on changing the culture so that players and fans like me can openly be who we are without fear.''

Dr Caroline Symons, a senior lecturer in social policy in sport at Victoria University, says a 2010 report she co-authored surveying the gay and lesbian community found football was the hardest sport for people to be open about their sexuality.

''If you weren't playing well the terms used to motivate men were, 'You're playing like a pack of poofs or faggots.' So the terminology associates being gay with being weak and that can be very alienating,'' she said.

A spokesman for the AFL said it supported diversity and respectful relationships and did not tolerate discrimination.

■The Australian Christian Lobby has rejected Jeff Kennett's offer to replace the Prime Minister at its national conference. On Thursday, Julia Gillard withdrew from the October conference, citing ''offensive'' comments by the lobby's leader, Jim Wallace, on homosexuality.

HOMOPHOBIA AND THE AFL WHO NEVER LEARN AND DON'T HELP

The following article was in the Sunday Age on 2 September 2012. The AFL contiues to make sounds and they have no substance. Andrew Demetriou should read this article and pay attention - homophobia continues unabated in the AFL and should be stopped - NOW!

AFL's stance is a clear-cut case of gay abandon

September 2, 2012
By Ben Hart

Sydney's Ted Richards during a 2010 AFLPA campaign.

On matters of homophobia, football doesn't walk the walk.

TANZANIA has no pygmies. Rwanda does. So does Uganda. There are pygmy tribes that originate in Angola, Botswana and Zambia. But none of them come from Tanzania.
This is interesting to those who follow the politics of AFL football only because league chief Andrew Demetriou curiously invoked pygmies last year while defending his organisation against claims that it hadn't done enough to combat homophobia.

''Next they'll be wanting us to sort out the pygmies in Tanzania,'' he said.
I'm sure that if Demetriou had his time again, he'd probably decide against implying that the plight of gays, lesbians and other people discriminated against because of their sexuality was as relevant to the AFL as a non-existent African ethnic group experiencing non-existent hardship.

It was unfortunate because, based on my experience in the AFL industry, I can say pretty confidently that the AFL isn't homophobic. Demetriou and many of the senior people around him pride themselves on having progressive politics.

And, in some areas, they have much to be proud of. You could mount a compelling argument that the AFL has done more than any other sporting organisation to fight racism against indigenous Australians.

So when Demetriou last week wrote a letter supporting a television campaign called No To Homophobia, run by a coalition of social justice organisations, it was commendable.

But it also highlighted the gulf between the AFL's few good gestures in this area and the absence of real action to make the footy world a more inclusive and welcoming place for all people, no matter their sexuality.

The AFL's involvement gave the campaign massive exposure. But, despite newspaper articles saying the AFL was ''lead[ing] the charge'' in the campaign, it had nothing to do with its development. It put no money into it. No AFL representatives participated in the media launch. There are no plans for the ads to be shown at AFL stadiums. If you go on the AFL website, you won't see any mention of the campaign. The truth is that writing letters of support is easy. But a culture is only changed when you do the difficult things.

That's why the recent case of St Kilda fining its forward Stephen Milne $3000 for calling Collingwood's Harry O'Brien a ''f--king homo'' was more significant, and sent a stronger message about how seriously the AFL takes the issue than any letter.
Milne is a repeat offender in this area. In 2010, he used similar homophobic language against Pies assistant coach Paul Licuria and was fined … $3000. (St Kilda issued the fine, but if the AFL wanted it to be harsher, there's no doubt it would have been).

For a football public well versed in the concept of escalating sanctions for repeat offences, and which has witnessed Will Minson being rubbed out for a game for disparaging another player's mother, it spoke volumes: the AFL is taking this seriously, but not that seriously.

For a clue as to why, you only need to go back to Demetriou's pygmy comment. For the AFL, homophobia simply isn't in the same category as, say, racism. It is an external issue, like the environment or homelessness.

Except it isn't. According to the AFL's own figures, there were 791,178 people playing football across the country last year. It is a statistical certainty that a significant number of them are not heterosexual. (Research indicates that between 7 and 11 per cent of young Australians are either same-sex attracted, or confused about their sexual orientation).

I think about a teenage boy in Echuca who is playing for the local under 17s and is secretly struggling with his sexuality. How does he feel when he sees the response to the Milne incident? How does he feel when he hears former player Nathan Brown say on radio: ''If you can't call someone a homo in a joking sense out on the field to put him off his game … what can you say? I mean, come on. It's a joke.''

We know that young people who are same-sex attracted are six times more likely to commit suicide than their ''straight'' peers.

And then there's the issue of whether the senior lists of the AFL's 18 clubs contain any gay players.

No player should feel compelled to come out. It is entirely a matter for them and the first one who does will be a very brave man indeed. But the fact that someone hasn't is significant, and goes directly to the performance of the AFL in promoting diversity.

During my brief stint at the AFL Players Association, it was the question I was asked the most when people found out where I worked.

Strangers at dinner parties would lean forward and, in conspiratorial tones, ask ''So, do you know which ones are gay?'' I always replied that I had no idea. I still don't. There may be none, although this is highly unlikely.

Despite this gossipy obsession in the community, my experience of players' attitudes to this issue was almost wholly positive. It's well documented that the players' association displayed a level of leadership in this space that the AFL couldn't or wouldn't. I was proud to be involved in an AFL player campaign to promote the International Day Against Homophobia. Good, brave men like Nick Duigan, Bob Murphy, Drew Petrie, and Dan Jackson used their profiles to send messages about tolerance and inclusion.

It was the ''difficult stuff'', because the association was going it alone. Ironically, even now when journalists ask the AFL what it has done to stamp out sexuality-based discrimination, it points to the AFLPA campaign - such is the dearth of specific AFL programs or initiatives.

But the good news is that it doesn't have to be this way. The AFL and its CEO could prioritise this today and make a commitment to doing things that are meaningful … and difficult.

Ben Hart was public affairs manager for the AFL Players Association in 2010 and 2011.

HOMOPHOBIA CONTINUES UNABATED IN AFL AND OTHER CODES IN AUSTRALIA

This article appeared in the Fairfax media over the weekend of 19 February 2012.

Rob Mitchell tells how there is no change in homophobia in footy games in Australia after years and years of trying to get changes!

AFL needs to man up on homophobia issue
Rob Mitchell
February 19, 2012

Andrew Demetriou: says the AFL is educating players on gay issues. Photo: Paul Rovere

THE head of the AFL, Andrew Demetriou, ought to take his colleague Jeff Kennett out to lunch.

Along with his credit card, Mr Demetriou might want to take a notepad. If events this week are any guide, he could learn a lot from Mr Kennett.

Earlier this week, Mr Kennett was on radio talking about depression. As chairman of the national anti-depression outfit beyondblue, and after a long stint as president of the Hawthorn Football Club, he is adept at using his high media profile to destigmatise depression and suicide.

The interview took an unexpected turn. While talking about depression in professional footballers, Mr Kennett went on to say that approximately 5 per cent of professional AFL footballers are gay, and the fact that none of them were publicly ''out'' was a major cause for concern because having to hide their sexual orientation - particularly in the goldfish bowl of AFL football - was highly detrimental to their mental health.

Mr Kennett's track record with gay issues has been troubled - he ended up at loggerheads with his previous chief executive, Dawn O'Neil, over comments about gay parenting - but his 5 per cent figure is a reasonable assumption. Research undertaken by beyondblue shows that in men aged 25 and under, some 10 per cent will identify as same-sex attracted. Given that half of the 800-odd professional AFL footballers are aged under 25, that would suggest about 40 players are gay in that age group alone. The research also tells us AFL is regarded as the most homophobic of all the football codes.

Naturally, Mr Kennett's comments were later put to Andrew Demetriou, who, as luck would have it, was already well and truly in diversity mode at a function spruiking the AFL's credentials in respect towards women.

Mr Demetriou assured the media that the AFL was ''ahead of the game'' when it came to ensuring the code was inclusive of gay men, not only because discrimination based on sexual orientation was now included in the AFL anti-vilification code, but also due to the fact that all footballers have seen a video of gay Olympic swimmer Daniel Kowalski talking about his own experience in coming out.

Who's he trying to kid? The cold hard reality is that the AFL has as little to do with the gay community as it possibly can. The rule change that Mr Demetriou referred to only occurred after some 18 months of intensive lobbying by the gay community, and when finally sexual orientation was included in the anti-vilification section of the AFL rules, it was 10 years after the same provision was placed in Victoria's Equal Opportunity Act.

And while it's useful for footballers to watch a video on what it is like to be an elite gay swimmer, surely that pulls up well short of the kind of education we can reasonably expect the AFL to give its players.

The AFL has also conveniently forgotten to mention that it is paid more than $400,000 a year from the Australian Sports Commission to make the code more inclusive.

Truth is, there are no ''out'' gay AFL footballers because they refuse to self-identify in an environment that they perceive to be toxic. The responsibility for this rests squarely on the shoulders of the administrators. Not the players. Not the fans. Not the umpires. Not the coaches.

The drivel that is put forward from the AFL about coming out being ''a personal choice'' is precisely that. For the AFL to say that all their gay players are ''choosing'' to remain in the closet is ridiculous.

It beggars belief that a gay AFL footballer would not want his partner to be involved in events like the Brownlows. Not because they are looking to be activists, but because they want to be able to be honest with everyone around them. Why does the AFL not get that?

Further, the AFL as administrators refuse to make any effort to help their gay players, not because they lack the resources - the AFL earns hundreds of millions of dollars a year and pays no income tax - but simply because they don't want to. And they don't want to because, despite the lip service, diversity and inclusion is not regarded as core business.

If the AFL wanted to, it could transform the issue of homophobia in football in a heartbeat. When the AFL Players Association ran a ground-breaking project for the International Day Against Homophobia two years ago, the AFL took notice and was getting ready to run a diversity round to highlight the value of inclusion in sport. Then along came Jason Akermanis with his infamous ''Stay in the closet'' newspaper column, and the wheels fell off. As a result, the AFL decided, again, to put gay in the too-hard basket.

While the AFL refuses to address the issue of homophobia in the code, it's never going to get any better. It's not an unreasonable expectation for the AFL to do equality equally. Now would be a good time to start.

Rob Mitchell is a member of the Victorian Department of Sport governance and inclusion project.