AFL players making homophobic comments on the field has been an ongoing problem for the sport in recent years, and the punishments dolled out appear to increase as the season progresses. Ahead of the 2026 season The Age’s sports report Peter Ryan has called for the penalty to to be standardised.
It’s one of a long list of improvements Ryan has suggested for the 2026 season in an article published today.
Despite the league investing considerably in education programs for over a decade the challenge on homophobic comments being voiced by coaches and players remain.
To date retired player Mitch Brown is the only player, who has played at the top level of the game, to come out as being same-sex attracted. Brown made international headlines in 2025 when he shared that he is bisexual, but while he got lots of praise for his declaration, he’s also been the subject of multiple incidents which have shown the AFL still has a really long way to go.
The Adelaide Crow’s star player Izak Rankine was suspended for four weeks last season, meaning he missed out on most of the finals and was knocked out of contention for the Brownlow medal. Also during the 2025 season West Coast Eagle Jack Graham was suspended for four matches over comments he made on the pitch. While Sydney Swans player Riak Andrew was given a five week suspension for comments he made during a VFL game.
The 2024 season saw several players across the league handed hefty penalties as officials clamped down on inappropriate language on the field. Port Adelaide’s Jeremy Finlayson was given a three-match ban, Gold Coast’s Wil Powell was suspended for four matches, and St Kilda’s Lance Collard was awarded a six-match suspension as punishment for his outburst.
Coaches have also been offenders, in 2024 in a pre-season game North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson unloaded on a player from St Kilda and used a gay slur, resulting in a $20,000 fine from the game’s integrity unit.
Ryan argued that its unclear what the AFL is trying to achieve with different punishments for basically the same offence.
“Do something unacceptable on or off the field, and it’s anyone’s guess what the penalty will be. That’s because no one seems to know exactly what they are trying to achieve.” he wrote.
“Deliver the framework that the AFL Players’ Association has been screaming for to create a system with an acceptable balance between education, guidance and punitive measures.
“It doesn’t need to be perfect, but the time taken after an investigation to deliver a final penalty is too long, convoluted and lacking in transparency.” he argued.
Some commentators have previously argued that the long bans for homophobic slurs are excessive and end up punishing the wider team by often depriving them of top players for multiple games.
However researchers in the specific field of homophobia in sport have offered a more nuanced response to the challenge. In the past we’ve highlighted research by behavioural scientist Erik Denison who has taken an in-depth look at homophobia and misogyny in the AFL and other team sports.
Last year Denison spoke to Natarsha Belling on the podcast The Briefing about this work, and while he also says suspensions of high profile players are not the complete solution, he does offer insight into what does work.
Denison says its wrong to describe these moments as a “slip of the tongue” and something that happened “in the heat of the moment”. He says the research shows that the sue of such language is rife.
“This narrative that goes on within the sport media, we know that it is not true, this language is used day to day.” he said.
The researcher said what is more important to focus on in why the language is used, and he notes that sexist and homophobic language are driven by the same motivation. The research shows that misguided concepts of masculinity are the underlying motivator.
