Former football pro Mitch Brown says he feels ‘at peace’ since coming out
Mitch Brown made history as the AFL’s first out bisexual player. (Getty Images)
Former football pro Mitch Brown has said he feels “at peace” since coming out.
In August last year, former West Coast Eagles player Brown, who played in the AFL (Australian Football League) for 10 years, made history by coming out as bisexual.
In an interview with Melbourne Breakfast to mark Mardis Gras, Brown opened up to Sharnelle Vella and Bob Murphy about how he has been feeling following coming out.
“I’m a bisexual man,” Brown began in the interview, adding that coming out led him to have “this feeling of peace, but, more importantly, comfort and confidence – confidence in who I am, my identity and confidence in sharing that.”
Asked how his last six months have been, he said that speaking about it has been “a form of therapy”.
“I’m going through this right in the moment, and it’s having to play out publicly, but I’m also doing it on a personal level too,” he said, adding that he “feels a sense of peace and comfort”.
He said of “hiding something”: “You’ve just got you and your thoughts… you just make up things that are not reality, and you think they’re going to be worse, and they’re not.”
‘It’s been really loving and supportive’
Brown said he had felt that way leading up to coming out publicly, but “it really hasn’t been too bad. It’s been really loving and supportive,” he shared, explaining that he acknowledges his “privilege” to be so loved.
“I choose to do that,” he said, referring to keeping the conversation about LGBTQ+ players in sports going.
He added that he has been open about his sexuality for years within his own circle, but didn’t feel he had “the place to speak up”.
Brown added of grappling bisexual erasure: “Maybe the first person in the AFL men’s competition to come out and speak out publicly should be a gay man, someone that walks down the Brownlow red carpet with a man side by side.”
However, he wanted to come in a bid to make mens sports a more welcoming place for everyone. He said his plan with coming out was always to allow his “authentic self” and the “rawness” shine.
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