North Melbourne AFLW captain Emma Kearney told The Age last year that some clubs are more diverse and accepting than others, and not every locker room would be a comfortable place for a gay man.

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“There’s a younger generation of players who are starting to become more accepting. But I think as a whole, particularly in the AFL men’s space, I don’t think there’s an environment where gay [male] players can be their true selves,” said Kearney, who came out publicly in 2021.

“Whether it’s fear of hate from the players, or more so fear of the discrimination they’ll face in being one of the first gay athletes, and the hate on their social media accounts as a result.”

Kearney weighed her privacy against the influence her coming-out might have on younger girls and women grappling with their sexuality.

“Before that [coming out], my family and friends knew. Teammates knew. But I wasn’t comfortable having the whole world know. I didn’t feel like it was their business. But for me, it was more a matter of, if I come out, this is the impact I potentially can have,” she said.

“But it’s amplified even more as a male footballer when there’s more media attention, more social media, more followers, all that sort of stuff. Potentially, they would think it’s actually not worth it.”

In 2021, A-League player Josh Cavallo became the first active top-flight male professional footballer in the world to come out as gay. There was an outpouring of love and support for Cavallo from around the world, but little more than two months later, he was the target of homophobic slurs from over the fence, death threats and “hateful and hurtful messages” on social media.

In November last year, Melbourne United basketballer Isaac Humphries came out as the first openly gay man to play in the National Basketball League.