Controversial footy great Wayne Carey has slammed the AFL’s first openly bisexual player Mitch Brown for failing to wear a tuxedo to the league’s Hall of Fame ceremony.
Brown and his partner Lou Keck attended the star-studded event on Monday, with the former West Coast Eagles star turning heads in a sleeveless fishnet top combined with a scarf.
In contrast, the other male attendees were all decked out to meet a black-tie dress code – and Carey was not happy.
‘Mitch Brown HOF outfit seriously?? Black tie function biggest night on the calendar,’ the Kangaroos legend wrote on X.
Carey’s take left footy fans divided.
‘Why was he [Brown] even there? Why wasn’t he turned around? 100% is a dress code. Clearly fear of being persecuted by the woke mob,’ one wrote.
Mitch Brown is pictured attending the AFL Hall of Fame ceremony with his partner Lou Keck
While the other male attendees wore tuxes, Brown opted for a sleeveless fishnet top combined with a scarf – and Wayne Carey was not happy
Pictured: Carey’s take on Brown’s outfit, which left footy fans divided
‘Ridiculous! Somehow dress code doesn’t apply?’ added another.
‘The AFL has turned itself into a woke disgrace,’ commented a third.
Carey’s critics thought he was being petty and hypocritical by criticising Brown.
‘You passing judgement on anyone’s behaviour is an absolute joke,’ one said.
‘Why have you turned into such a snowflake Wayne?’ another asked.
When Brown posted an image to Instagram of him and Keck at the ceremony, one fan commented, ‘How can I make the HOF event about me? Put a suit on you clown.’
The veteran of 94 AFL games wasn’t having it.
‘Oh, so sorry Dean completely forgot that men aren’t allowed to express themselves. Back in my box I go,’ he posted.
Brown took to Instagram to snap back at another footy fan who blasted his fashion sense
Pictured: This year’s Hall of Fame inductees, including Brown’s old West Coast Eagles coach John Worsfold (back row, second from right)
Carey’s take saw some commenters brand him a snowflake and a hypocrite
‘I want you to know, I felt so f#cking good in what I wore. And so did Lou.’
Brown’s comeback saw many of his followers congratulate him on expressing himself, ‘living his best life’ and making some footy fans ‘uncomfortable’.
However, the 37-year-old also came in for more criticism after clapping back.
‘It’s a black tie event. How hard is it to have some respect for the event and your peers that attend? Plenty of other spaces and events you can play dress ups at,’ one wrote.
‘It’s just polite to adhere to the dress code at the Hall of Fame sorry mate.’
Brown said it was ‘extra special’ to be at the ceremony as his old coach at the Eagles, John Worsfold, was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Worsfold joined Geelong and Gold Coast legend Gary Ablett Jr, Essendon games record holder Dustin Fletcher, Indigenous champion David Kantilla, Port Adelaide goal-kicking machine Tim Evans and five-time AFL grand final umpire Hayden Kennedy in being acknowledged.
The 57-year-old was captain of West Coast’s first two premierships in 1992 and 1994, before coaching the club to the 2006 flag.
He also coached Essendon for five seasons, initially as a steadying figure during the 2016 “top-ups” year after James Hird was sacked.
