The AFL’s first openly bisexual male player slams Crows coach over Quaynor boos

Mitch Brown – the AFL’s first openly bisexual male footballer – has slammed Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks’ response to Crows fans’ booing of Isaac Quaynor as “horrible leadership”.

Playing his 150th game, Quaynor was jeered by large sections of the 50,109-strong crowd at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night for each of his 20 disposals as Collingwood turned a 27-point first-half deficit into a 34-point win.

Crows supporters also targeted Quaynor in last year’s qualifying final, a fortnight after he was the victim of a homophobic slur from Adelaide star Izak Rankine.

Speaking on ABC radio on Friday morning, Brown described the booing as a version of homophobia, and did not believe Nicks’ post-match reaction did enough to condemn such behaviour.

The ex-West Coast defender also likened the situation to the constant boos directed at Sydney Swans legend Adam Goodes in the final years of his career.

“Coaches preach about strong leadership, and part of that strong leadership is standing up for what’s right, calling out behaviour, your beliefs, and conviction,” Brown said.

“All leaders agree with that. Last night, what I saw with Matthew Nicks is really horrible leadership, and I don’t mind saying it. You don’t dance around it. If you actually believe in your conviction [that] you want this game to be safe for everyone [then you are stronger than Nicks was] because at the moment it’s not.

“If you want it to be out, if you look down the barrel of that camera and you say, ‘We do not stand for this’ [it would be more impactful] … Who are you trying to protect when you’re being like, ‘Oh, it’s a passionate game’. I think men need to stand up and use our voices and not fear calling things out. I think leaders sometimes – players, head coaches, and Matthew Nicks – might have been thinking that, ‘I don’t want my fans to hate me for calling them out’.

“That’s what it looked like. When you don’t call something out with conviction … silence is deafening.”

This masthead contacted both the Crows and the AFL on Friday morning.

The Crows are expected to release a statement later on Friday.

Magpies champion Scott Pendlebury and coach Craig McRae both addressed and condemned the Crows fans’ actions.

Nicks had called for the club’s supporter base to be respectful ahead of Rankine’s first game against Collingwood since his suspension, a plea that some fans ignored.

“I mentioned during the week about why we play footy, why people come to the footy,” Nicks said post-match.

“It’s about entertainment, it’s about enjoyment, passion. The game is a passionate game and sometimes we lose our way in that a little. It’s not ideal, the way it played out tonight.”

Brown said Nicks and the Crows were effectively accepting the crowd behaviour by not being more emphatic with their response.

“Even if Matthew Nicks and the Adelaide Football Club really don’t accept that behaviour, by remaining silent, by not addressing it really clearly … until you do that, what you are saying is, as a football club, we are accepting this behaviour,” he said.

“Those boos, that’s homophobia. I don’t buy the excuses of, ‘It’s part of the game’.”

Collingwood champion Scott Pendlebury and coach Craig Mcrae both condemned the fans’ booing on Thursday night.

Pendlebury told this masthead it said more about those fans than it did about his Quaynor.

“I definitely noticed it at the start of the game,” said Pendlebury, who racked up 29 disposals, six clearances and kicked a momentum-turning goal late in the second quarter.

“It probably says more about the crowd than it does about Isaac.

“Stuff happens in footy all the time, but I think as supporters from all sides, and the league in general, we’ve just got to be better.”

Pendlebury doesn’t believe Quaynor was rattled by the hostile reception, but said he and his fellow Magpies will rally around the gun backman regardless.

“He’ll be fine,” Pendlebury said.

“Isaac probably knew it was going to come. We’re all big boys and we’ll get around Isaac, but he’ll be fine.”

McRae brought his daughter Charlie to the post-match press conference. He used the opportunity to speak about the values he has instilled in his family around not booing sportspeople while questioning why Quaynor was being treated as though he had done something wrong.

“I’ve got my little daughter in the room – she’s 10,” McRae said.

“I teach her [that] we don’t boo. That’s all I can control.

“It’s a fascinating narrative around why they would boo him.

“My understanding is he was the victim of a homophobic slur, and he’s getting booed for that? It’s a fascinating world we live in.”

While unhappy with the behaviour of those fans, McRae also made it clear he held no ill will towards Rankine, who he sought out after the final siren.

“I actually grabbed Izak Rankine at the end of the game and said, ‘We’ve got great respect for you, young man’,” McRae revealed.

“People are allowed to make mistakes – they are. We’re all human.

“We’ve got great respect for him – he’s a sensational player.

“I don’t know him as a person, but the way he stood up and overcame what was – [he] took it on the shoulders – there’s something to be said about that.

“That’s life, isn’t it? Make a mistake, fix it and improve yourself.

“We were rapt in our Isaac’s game tonight. Jeez, he must have had the ball a lot early because he got booed a lot.

“We’ll get our arms around him [Quaynor] and show how much we love him.”

Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks during the week implored Crows fans to treat Quaynor with respect. His call to arms fell on deaf ears.

“The game’s a passionate game and sometimes we lose our way in that a little,” Nicks said.

“With the backdrop and the background leading into this game, it’s not ideal the way it played out tonight.”

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