Mitch Brown says Izak Rankine’s homophobic slur was not his fault: ‘It’s bigger than that’

The AFL’s first openly bisexual man Mitch Brown says Izak Rankine’s homophobic slur towards Isaac Quaynor is “not his fault”.

Rankine was suspended for four games on the eve of the finals for the slur, leaving Adelaide without their best forward as they crashed out in straight sets with losses to Collingwood and then Hawthorn after winning the minor premiership.

But Brown, who last month became the first active or former AFL player to come out as either gay or bisexual , says the issue is bigger than just Rankine’s slur.

“I don’t blame Izak Rankine,” Brown told The Imperfects.

“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, who played 94 games for West Coast between 2007 a