Could the AFL Ever Be Queer Friendly?

This article originally appeared on VICE Australia in May 2015

This month the global Out on the Fields report found Australia and New Zealand trailed the world in creating safe spaces for young LGBT athletes. The Purple Bombers are a group focused on changing those attitudes and stamping out homophobia and ultra-macho culture in Australian sport.

In some ways they have their work cut out for them. Last year, TV commentator Brian Taylor was sacked after using the term "poofter" during a live match call. In 2010 former Brisbane Lions star, Jason Ackermanis, famously advised any gay players who may be out there to stay in the closet. And while both of these incidents were met with loud public outcry, they do indicate a deep seeded view of homosexuality in sport.

Purple Bombers founder, Jason Tuazon McCheyne, remains undaunted. A die-hard Essendon fan, gay man, and civil marriage celebrant—his group was established last year to look out for footy fans with diverse sexualities at the Essendon Footy Club. Following the report's dire findings, VICE called him up to ask if AFL will ever be comfortable queering its hetero-norms.

VICE: Hi Jason, what was the AFL's culture towards gender and sexuality like when you were growing up as a young gay man?
Jason Tuazon McCheyne: It was very much a male-dominated area. The environment wasn't appropriate for us—I even avoided eating Golden Gaytimes. I remember being in the closet as a 15-year-old and hearing a champion Essendon player say on TV that gay people weren't welcome inside the football club. Hearing that just broke my heart.

How did those experiences lead to starting the Purple Bombers?
Basically I approached Essendon asking if they could do anything about homophobia in sport and I told them two stories. One about that champion Essendon player I heard in my teens. The other about a time when I was with my husband at Ethiad Stadium where a guy was yelling out "poofter" and "faggot" to the players, then his daughter joined in. These words were coming in stereo at our reserved seats, and with my heart in my throat I turned around and told them to bugger off. Through that, the Purple Bombers was born.

Do you feel the AFL's attitude toward homophobia has come all that far?
I don't think the AFL is anti-gay, but I still think there are a few too many people in power who are ambivalent. But at Essendon things have changed because we're allowed to be visible. Last Friday night 25 or so people of diverse sexuality and gender had a drink in one of the bars at Etihad, and it was the first time that I ever kissed a man hello at the footy.

That's great to hear, but how do you start trying to dislodge a century of very narrow thinking when it comes to gender in sport?
It's going to take the grassroots and community level to push for change. Look at the community: Brock McLean's sister is gay, Brendan Goddard's niece is gay—people know gay people, and I don't understand why we need to be treated as second-class citizens. It doesn't make sense anymore, particularly in an era where we're taught not to be homophobic.

But how do you address it?
We've got three aims: we want to make the AFL a safer place for LGBT fans and players, we want to establish a pride game which would be Melbourne's equivalent of Mardi Gras, and thirdly we like to help create similar supporter groups in each AFL club.

And we're not about creating a separate clique, it's just about being visible so people understand that we exist and that homophobia doesn't have a place in footy anymore. If you're a straight person, you can go to the football with your wife and kids and not have to worry about whether you seem "normal" to other people.

Considering what we've talked about so far, and then looking at the AFL's very public response to the report, do you feel there is a level of tokenism when it comes to embracing equality?
It's definitely not token, and I think that's going to make lasting change. It's the first time actual players are voicing these things out loud. In the past, they might've talked about having good behaviour toward other spectators, but they were never explicitly calling out homophobia. So to have a star player stand there and support our cause is massive. It reflects on the players, they aren't having issues with diverse sexuality and gender—and they copped flack for it, too. The more that happens, the better.

But it's going to take more than a media campaign to evoke change, what needs to happen to really make players at all levels feel safe enough to come out to teammates?
A pride game would help. Conversations are underway with gay players to help facilitate them coming out, and the tipping point's not too far away. St Kilda and Essendon are currently doing proper training within their whole staff and players.

So it's really about being visible.
Now we're visible, people are talking about us. There are some people who say pretty horrid things working in the media. But this allows people to have a conversation, and it can only lead to them liking us—because there's nothing wrong with queer people. But if you're never allowed to have the conversation, perceptions around queer people could be left unchallenged.

Follow Alan Weedon on Twitter: @alnwdn