Former footy stars celebrate ‘homoerotic nature’ of contact sport in new music video

As a breathless and sweaty rugby scrum reaches climax in rising Australian artist ANDY’s new music video, retired AFL player Mitch Brown kisses the artist before spitting blue electrolyte drink into his mouth in the first public display of his sexuality since coming out as bisexual last year.

The steamy, coming-of-age music video explores a gay awakening set against the backdrop of Australian contact sport. It features Brown alongside former Australian Test prop and trailblazing NRL legend Ian Roberts, who came out as gay while playing for the Manly Sea Eagles in 1995.

Brown said it felt liberating to finally represent his bisexuality after feeling shame, as an active AFL player, for liking men. He also observed that the “homoerotic nature of the game” portrayed in the music video exposed the hypocritical nature of homophobia in contact sports.

“In sports … you are putting your bodily fluids all over each other in the huddles and tackling, and that is like spit, and you’re sharing a drink bottle,” Brown said.

“Why are [players] comfortable with that, but not when it’s, in a sense, that in a different environment? … Like you guys are actually really accepting of homosexuality because it actually exists in certain nature and traits within this game you love so much.”

Now a queer-rights activist, Brown said he’d be surprised if he received support from players or clubs from his former code over his role in the music video and called out the AFL for not encouraging a safe space for queer players to exist in.

“The AFL is the last professional men’s space in the world that has had no queer players who have ever actively played and come out whilst they’re playing,” Brown said.

“There’s defence forces, there’s mining industries – there’s all these industries that arguably have worse stereotypes than the AFL, but yet they’ve got queer men in those industries that the AFL seems not to have.

“Do I think the AFL and the clubs are providing a safe place and have the systems in place for a gay person to speak up? Well, if I’m going by the statistics, I would say no ... I’ve been one of them that played and remained closeted. There is a broader issue at play here.”

The music video for the single Can’t Wait by ANDY, whose full name is Andy Cook, depicts a younger version of Cook in a boys’ locker room, afraid to explore his sexuality. Towards the end of the video, the captains of each club (Cook and Brown) kiss, while other side characters do as well. “It’s ‘yeah the boys’ meets ‘kiss the boys’,” Cook said.

For Roberts, being part of the music video was a “no-brainer”. The first Australian male sports player to announce he was gay said he doesn’t see any controversy in the video. Still, the fact that the video depicts men touching each other in an “overtly sexual” manner means there will be controversy.

“Anything to do with anything like that’s same-sex … is always – like I know it feels stale and dated, but people still see it as somehow debatable,” he says.

Even Cook said he was nervous the video would “ruffle some feathers”.

“The current climate of the world we live in, and my experience as a gay person in it, I just feel like even in the last five years, I have felt a different experience walking around as myself,” the pop singer said.

“[The video is] commenting on the homoeroticism and the homophobia that kind of flirts quite dangerously together at times, and we are basically bridging that gap. I think there will be people who love it and think it’s beautiful and understand what it is, but I think there will be people that won’t necessarily agree with my point of view.”

Roberts said there was still an underlying current in contact sports that being gay translated to weakness. “To be attracted to other men if you’re a man is almost feminised somehow,” he said.

“I do [education] with the NRL. I do a lot of stuff with the other major sporting leagues and, like, I don’t know why … like, it’s still uncomfortable to say this, but particularly with men, it’s still an awkward conversation.”

In June, former Roosters’ enforcer Kane Evans came out as gay. He said in an interview with Nine’s 100% Footy that denying his sexuality from the age of 15 had weighed on him so much that, once his NRL and Super League career ended, he made taking his own life a personal goal as he spiralled into addiction.

Evans’ story deeply inspired Cook’s music video. “That’s why when I cast the music video, I didn’t just want it to be a locker room of queer people; it needed to be straight people, gay people, a whole boiling pot of people who are showing up authentically as themselves, and that doesn’t take away from anyone,” he said.

“In an ideal world, it would be great for the captain of the Parramatta Eels to kiss the captain of the Manly Sea Eagles.”

For Brown, even after coming out, the battle isn’t over. Being a retired sports player who advocates for queer communities, as well as women’s rights, feels lonely.

“In terms of being a man and standing up for a better AFL culture, it’s quite lonely. It’s extremely lonely. It makes you feel like the AFL men’s players don’t care sometimes because you’re just, like, where are your voices?” Brown said.

“I would honestly struggle to name one current player that spoke up in support of women’s safety after everything around the Sydney Swans situation. It’s again on these other issues that don’t necessarily affect them; you don’t hear from them.”