2 hours ago
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Former West Coast star Mitch Brown has revealed that he contacted Izak Rankine following the Adelaide star's ban for using a homophobic slur.
Rankine was handed a four-match suspension on the eve of the footy finals for using a homophobic slur during a match against Collingwood.
Brown, the league's first openly bisexual man, says he doesn't blame Rankine - insisting that the issue is much bigger than the slur itself.
'I don't blame Izak Rankine,' Brown told The Imperfects podcast.
'I would never point out an individual, I would never do that, because it's more than that, it's bigger than that, it's cultural, it's systematic.'
Brown says he reached out to the Adelaide star after the incident.
Mitch Brown (pictured) says he contacted Izak Rankine following the Adelaide star's ban for using a homophobic slur
Adelaide’s Izak Rankine (pictured) was issued a four-game ban after using the homophobic slur, leaving Crows without him for finals
'The reason why I reached out is I watched him on screen apologising for what he did after he went away and came back from overseas, and I could feel the hurt and heaviness on him,' Brown explained.
'I just wanted to let him know that it's not his fault. He's not a bad person. He's still an incredible role model.
'I wanted him to know that.
'I was like, I need to share this with him, it may mean something.
'Most people would think I'm the radical opposite, we're the arch enemies. And I just wanted to let him know that you're still an amazing role model and don't forget that.
'Part of what I hope for my two boys and what we hope for our young people is for us to own and accept our mistakes and learn from that.
'Don't give up on standing tall and being proud. Don't fall into being defined as the person who did (say) the slur. It won't define you if you don't let it.'
Brown went on to explain that Rankine also knows what it's like to be targeted as a minority.
Brown says he doesn't blame Rankine, insisting that the issue is much bigger than the slur
Mitch Brown bravely announced he is bisexual, the first AFL player in history to do so
'As an Aboriginal man, he is on the end of direct racism and non-direct systematic racism every single day of his life, so the guy understands what it feels like,' Brown said.
'He can walk in Isaac Quaynor's shoes. He literally can, and I didn't want to let a good positive male role model define himself by one incident, so I felt compelled to share and let him know that it's OK.
'What I am disappointed with is the culture in the system. One thing that really affected me was people telling me that I'm shaming clubs or making this about me or keeping myself relevant - I was never relevant in the first place. I was called Nath Brown's brother for a long time.
'It's about safety within your community, and I was disappointed that some football clubs missed that opportunity.'
