Pro athlete pin-up boy’s ‘Brokeback’ joke about being gay backfires

Bailey Smith is one of the biggest stars in Australian rules football. He ended up on the losing side with his club, Geelong Cats, in last weekend’s showpiece AFL Grand Final.

However, the “pin-up boy” of Aussie sports remains on the ropes after posting an image and comment to his Instagram story which has been labelled homophobic by various people, including by Mitch Brown, who recently came out publicly as the AFL’s first known bisexual player, past or present.

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Smith played in Saturday’s season-concluding clash in Melbourne, which the Brisbane Lions won by 47 points.

It’s tradition that after the seven-month-long AFL campaign comes to a close, the players let their hair down at a series of parties and celebrations that have come to be known as “Mad Monday.”

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There has been a history of bad behavior and questionable fancy-dress choices amid the festivities. Stunts involving schoolgirl costumes, dwarf entertainers and scantily-clad dancers feature among the past controversies.

To enjoy their freedom (or drown their sorrows) this year, the Cats players went to a waterfront bar in Geelong for what was supposed to be a more low-key gathering with some light dress-up thrown in.

Smith chose to dress as the “Legends of the Fall” character Tristan Ludlow, played by Brad Pitt in the 1994 movie, while his teammate Patrick Dangerfield went along as a character from the TV show “Yellowstone.”

All innocent enough, you’d be right to think. Yet as the beers started flowing, it seemed the Cats began to loosen up a little too much, with Smith choosing to share snaps on social media.

Recognizing that his team captain Dangerfield was also rocking it cowboy style, they posed for a clinch which Smith paired with a caption referencing another movie, “Brokeback Mountain.”

The suggestion that their cuddle resembled a scene of forbidden gay drama — “depends how you look at it,” wrote Smith — was one part of it.

But it was his second comment — “this is what losing a granny [AFL Grand Final] does to ya” — which made it more problematic.

Whether Smith was actually suggesting that defeat in the season finale drives you into the arms of a fictional gay lover is almost beside the point.

The fact his post could be interpreted in that way made it unwise. Certainly, Brown (who has not been short of an opinion since going public a few weeks ago) felt he should say something.

The former West Coast Eagles star found an image of the late, great Heath Ledger, looking particularly dreamy.

“Just for the record, Heath Ledger’s way hotter,” wrote Brown.

Then in a follow-up story post, he added: “In all seriousness, though, guys do better.

“Last time I checked, losing a Grand Final doesn’t make you gay, but being homophobic definitely makes you a loser.”

Burn! 

Plenty of fans on social media backed up Brown’s retort, as did the CEO of LGBTQ inclusion in sports organization Pride Cup.

Hayley Conway said: “My first reaction is how disappointing it is to see people using the experiences of gay and bisexual men — which is what the film “Brokeback Mountain” is about — as a punchline in a joke when they should be out celebrating what was really a pretty terrific season for the Geelong Cats.”

@abcnewsaus Geelong star Bailey Smith posted a photo from Mad Monday referencing the movie Brokeback Mountain. Former AFL player Mitch Brown said he felt the post was homophobic and urged the players to do better. Pride Cup CEO Hayley Conway tells News Breakfast that Smith’s provocative social media post 'disappointing'. To personalise your news & stay in the know, download the ABC NEWS app via the link in our bio. #ABCNewsBreakfast #MitchBrown #BaileySmith #AFLGrandFinal ♬ original sound – ABC News Australia

Smith wasn’t the only Cats star whose attempts at humor landed badly.

His teammate Max Holmes “dragged up” to impersonate commentator and pundit Caroline Wilson, complete with black wig and floral print dress.

Smith found himself in more hot water for his social media reaction to a pic of himself with Holmes in their costumes.

“Caro has never looked better,” he wrote alongside the suggestive sweat droplets and anguished face emojis, only to quickly delete the post (not fast enough for followers to screenshot it, though).

Wilson’s colleagues at AFL broadcasters Seven Network were far from impressed.

It’s a little ironic that Smith has found himself swept up in a social media storm, after recently talking about what he has to put up with online.

“I get a lot of d*ck picks and sh*t, to be honest,” Smith said on the “Kyle and Jackie O Show” on breakfast radio.

“But I try not to (go through his social media direct messages) at times because it is pretty scary stuff.

“I need to be either on the p*ss or in some sort of state to go through them, to be honest.”

Ah, the perils of Instagram — it’s like the Wild West out there. There’s always someone ready to shoot you down or fire something in your general direction.

It’s a shame that Smith’s attempt at a joke has backfired so badly because he’s certainly one of the most influential footballers in Australia. 

And he can “do better,” as Brown has suggested. But then again, so could the entire AFL.

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