AFL icons Wayne Carey and Sam Newman have launched a scathing attack on the league's administration, accusing it of blatant hypocrisy in its handling of player Mitch Brown's situation following Dani Laidley's appearance at the Brownlow Medal.
The controversial commentators made the explosive claims during a recent episode of their podcast, suggesting the AFL's actions were a calculated public relations exercise rather than a genuine stand for inclusivity.
The Core of the Controversy
Carey and Newman argued with conviction that had an openly bisexual or gay player like Mitch Brown been nominated for the prestigious award, the league would have paraded him as a trophy of their progressive values. "They would have been falling over themselves to get him there," Carey stated emphatically.
Instead, they posit that Brown's absence from the event, despite being in a relationship with the former North Melbourne coach Dani Laidley, highlights a deep-seated inconsistency in the AFL's approach to diversity and inclusion.
A History of Tension
This incident is not isolated. It feeds into a longstanding narrative of tension between the old guard of the sport—represented by figures like Newman and Carey—and the league's modern, more corporate-minded administration. The duo framed the AFL's embrace of Laidley at the event as opportunistic 'virtue signalling', designed to garner positive headlines rather than reflect a sustained commitment to change.
The conversation took a sharper turn as they critiqued the league's overall direction, moving beyond this single incident to question its authenticity in tackling broader social issues.
Broader Implications for the AFL
The fallout from this controversy extends far beyond a single awards night. It strikes at the heart of the AFL's public identity and its ongoing struggle to balance its traditional, often conservative, base with a desire to be seen as a modern and inclusive organisation.
This very public criticism from two of the game's most notorious—and listened to—figures ensures that the debate around authenticity, inclusivity, and the commercialisation of social causes will remain a hot-button issue for the league for the foreseeable future.
