Mitch Brown Questions AFL Inclusivity After Appearing in Steamy Music Video

Former West Coast Eagles player Mitch Brown has appeared in a provocative music video for Australian artist ANDY's song "Can't Wait," where he shares intimate scenes with the singer. The video, which also features rugby league trailblazer Ian Roberts, has prompted Brown to question the Australian Football League's (AFL) culture and its safety for gay players.

Brown, who publicly came out as bisexual in August 2025, told The Sydney Morning Herald that his involvement in the music video represents a significant personal shift. "I spent so much of my playing career being conscious of what I said, how I behaved and what people might assume about me, and now I'm on a footy field – although a different code – kissing another man for a music video," he said. "There's a nice full-circle feeling to that."

Brown played 94 games for the West Coast Eagles between 2007 and 2016 but kept his sexuality private during his AFL career. He has since become an advocate for inclusivity.

He challenged the perceived contradiction between the physical intimacy accepted during sports games and the discomfort surrounding male attraction. "In sports … you are putting your bodily fluids all over each other in the huddles and tackling, and that is like spit, and you're sharing a drink bottle," Brown noted.

Brown expressed skepticism about receiving support from current AFL players or clubs for his role in the video and questioned the league's commitment to providing a safe space for players to discuss their sexuality. "Do I think the AFL and the clubs are providing a safe place and have the systems in place for a gay person to speak up? Well, if I'm going by the statistics, I would say no," he stated. "I've been one of them that played and remained closeted. There is a broader issue at play here."

The music video depicts a younger version of ANDY, whose real name is Andy Cook, struggling with his sexuality. Brown and Cook appear as opposing captains who kiss in one scene, while Roberts plays an irate football coach. Cook described the project's theme as "'yeah the boys' meets 'kiss the boys.'"

Roberts, who came out as gay in 1995 while playing for Manly in the National Rugby League (NRL), called his participation a "no-brainer" decision to join the project.

He commented that sporting environments often carry an assumption that attraction to men somehow diminishes an athlete's perceived strength. "To be attracted to other men if you're a man is almost feminised somehow," Roberts said.

Cook mentioned that the coming-out story of former NRL player Kane Evans inspired the project. He deliberately cast a diverse group of individuals, including both straight and gay people, to emphasize authenticity. "That's why when I cast the music video, I didn't just want it to be a locker room of queer people; it needed to be straight people, gay people, a whole boiling pot of people who are showing up authentically as themselves, and that doesn't take away from anyone," Cook explained.

While acknowledging the video's potential to spark debate, Cook described the filming of intimate scenes as an emotional experience. "Honestly, when we filmed them and watched it back for the first time, you could hear a pin drop," he told Rolling Stone Australia. "I think everyone could feel that we were commenting on something very real, very raw and very beautiful."

For Brown, the increased visibility has also underscored feelings of isolation when advocating for change within football. "In terms of being a man and standing up for a better AFL culture, it's quite lonely. It's extremely lonely. It makes you feel like the AFL men's players don't care sometimes because you're just, like, where are your voices?" he said.