Mitch Brown has added a new voice to the national conversation as the 2026 AFL season opens. He published an open letter to the AFL community that frames personal disclosure as a matter of workplace safety and performance. Brown draws on his time with the West Coast Eagles and his recent public role at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras to argue that inclusion affects outcomes on and off the field.
The letter links small daily decisions to whether players and staff feel able to show up as themselves. Brown urges leaders, media and supporters to treat belonging as a contributor to competitive success rather than a separate moral obligation. He also calls for clear accountability and for organisations to learn from mistakes.
Leadership, culture and the everyday choices that matter
I’ve seen too many startups fail to blame culture alone. The same logic applies to teams. Culture is the product of repeated, low-cost choices. Those choices set incentives and shape behaviour more than any single policy.
Brown’s intervention reframes inclusion as a risk-management and performance issue. He highlights how microdecisions by coaches, administrators and commentators can either protect or erode a player’s psychological safety. Growth data tells a different story: organisations that institutionalise belonging reduce turnover and retain talent.
Anyone who has launched a product knows that rhetoric without processes is useless. Brown asks for practical steps: transparent reporting pathways, consistent sanctions for abuse, and mandatory education that is measured by outcomes, not attendance. He stresses that accountability should be visible and timely.
The letter places responsibility across the sport’s ecosystem. It names leaders and media outlets as key actors in setting norms. It also challenges supporters to consider how everyday language shapes the environment around players.
It also challenges supporters to consider how everyday language shapes the environment around players. Brown urged club executives, coaches, captains and other decision-makers to monitor small interactions that form team culture. He said culture is not only declared in grand statements but built in what gets challenged, defended or ignored. When a teammate feels seen and accepted, they can spend less energy hiding parts of themselves and more on performance. Brown framed this approach as practical leadership rather than soft sentimentality. He warned that expecting perfection is unrealistic, and that effort, honesty and the willingness to apologise and change are the true markers of progress.
How the media and public framing shape player safety
Media coverage and public discussion frame how clubs, leagues and fans judge incidents. Headlines set the tone for what is treated as urgent and what is dismissed. Language that sensationalises or simplifies complex situations can deepen harm for players and communities. Balanced reporting, by contrast, can focus attention on behaviour patterns and organisational responses rather than isolated headlines.
News organisations choose which facts to amplify. That choice affects investigations, sanctions and public pressure. Conservative or punitive framing can push clubs to defensive postures. Framing that centres safety and accountability can compel meaningful policy changes.
Brown asked journalists and commentators to avoid reducing disclosures to moral theatre. He called for coverage that distinguishes between allegation, investigation and proven wrongdoing. That distinction matters for both legal fairness and player welfare.
As a former product manager and founder, I have seen too many organisations let rhetoric substitute for structured change. Growth data tells a different story: signalling alone does not reduce harm. Organisations need clear reporting pathways, independent review and training that targets everyday interactions.
Experts and player advocates say measures that improve safety include independent investigators, transparent discipline policies and protected support channels for disclosures. They also highlight the role of consistent media language in shaping public expectations and club incentives.
Those responsible for club culture now face a practical test. Will they change how they speak about players and incidents, or will habits of dismissal persist? The next steps taken by clubs and the media will determine whether the conversation produces systemic reform or remains symbolic.
The next steps taken by clubs and the media will determine whether the conversation produces systemic reform or remains symbolic. Brown said narrative choices shape public attitudes and can extend harm beyond the playing field. He draws a line between responsible reporting and coverage that sensationalises personal identities. Some players, he added, fear not only internal club culture but being misrepresented in public coverage. The media, therefore, carries an ethical duty to balance scrutiny with humanity and to avoid headlines that reduce people to caricatures.
Responsibility of tone and framing
Brown argued that headlines, tone and language guide how the wider community perceives events and people. A respectful approach lowers the risk that young fans and vulnerable players will internalise damaging messages. Anyone who covers sport knows that careless framing can entrench stigma and influence behaviour off the field. Thoughtful journalism, he said, is part of a healthier sporting ecosystem where accountability and dignity coexist.
Fans, rivalry and modelling respectful behaviour
Supporters remain central to Brown’s appeal, he said, and their behaviour shapes the culture of the sport. He celebrated the passion and rivalry that make football distinctive, while warning that enthusiasm can spill into abuse. Children watch and emulate adult conduct, he added, making fan behaviour a matter of public responsibility.
Brown singled out family members, women, match officials and players from diverse backgrounds as groups who should not be targeted. Cheering for a club and choosing respect are compatible, he said. Small, consistent improvements in conduct at stadiums and online can shift wider social norms.
Changing the examples of strength
Brown argued that visible examples of respectful fandom matter. He urged clubs, broadcasters and supporter groups to model alternatives to aggression. “I’ve seen too many initiatives stop at statements,” he said, “but sustained action changes behaviour.”
His final point was pragmatic. If everyone feels they belong, the game grows stronger.
Personal story and the hope for future change
If everyone feels they belong, the game grows stronger. Brown reframes strength as the capacity to call out harm, to own mistakes and to act in accordance with values.
He urged sporting leaders to recognise and celebrate those who model this modern form of leadership: figures who stand up for others and admit when they are wrong. He said such examples change behaviour in schools, workplaces and clubs.
Brown also recounted a personal story to illustrate why visible accountability matters. He used the anecdote to link individual acts of responsibility to broader cultural shifts without offering operational prescriptions.
I’ve seen too many organisations fail to treat culture as a product rather than a slogan. Growth data tells a different story: inclusion and accountability correlate with sustained participation and reduced incidents of misconduct.
Practical steps, Brown argued, include naming misconduct, supporting those who speak up and rewarding admission of error. Those actions, he said, help turn isolated gestures into lasting norms.
Brown says coming out followed steady support from his circle
Those actions, he said, help turn isolated gestures into lasting norms. Brown decided to make his sexual orientation public after conversations with friends, members of the queer community and his partner, Lou, who provided the emotional support to take the step.
He described a brief confrontation with a sceptical stranger soon after going public. That encounter, he said, highlighted the difference between curiosity and biphobia, but he characterised the subsequent months as largely positive.
Since coming out, he has received invitations to speak, to host Mardi Gras events and to join public conversations across the country. He framed his role as reducing the personal risk for others who may follow.
“Anyone who has shared a public identity knows the risks and the relief,” he said, adding that each public account makes the path incrementally more navigable.
Brown frames the upcoming season as an opportunity to adopt better habits rather than pursue unattainable perfection. He urges accountability when teams or individuals fall short and encourages choosing belonging in everyday interactions.
His letter calls on leaders, the media, players and supporters to consider how their decisions will shape the sport’s future. Small, consistent choices, he argues, make the environment more navigable for those who follow.
I’ve seen too many organisations promise cultural change and then revert to old patterns. When actions match words, norms begin to shift. The season will test whether those commitments hold.