Wycheproof-Narraport Football Club tackles homophobia with rainbow lace campaign for marriage equality

It was an announcement the teenager had dreaded delivering.  

Not only were his brothers and father both proud Demons, the social life of his hometown centred upon the football club.  

And as the tallest member of the family, there was an expectation Keane would become his generation’s ruckman. 

“It’s like a religion and a church to a small town,” Keane said. 

But for a young man coming to the realisation he was gay, Wycheproof-Narraport Football Club was not a place he felt welcomed. 

"I was uncomfortable in the change rooms and on the field in that very blokey, macho culture you often find in football clubs," he said.

“I felt on the outer.”

Like many LGBTI people, Keane would carry that feeling of isolation throughout adolescence before it manifested as depression in early adulthood.  

The origins of a campaign for marriage equality he launched last month – selling rainbow shoelaces to supporters of the cause – can be traced to his experiences on the football field and his belief that everyone has the right to feel accepted.  

But an article about the An Equal Footing initiative in last Wednesday’s Bendigo Advertiser motivated club leaders to make amends for the culture that had once seen Keane excluded.  

Coach Julian Bull and player Rory White pushed for An Equal Footing laces to be threaded through every pair of boots that ran out onto the park for the club’s top-of-the-table clash against Charlton on Saturday. 

The Wycheproof-Narraport netball and hockey teams also followed suit. 

Bull said fitting out his squad in rainbow shoelaces was not only a way to embrace the Keane family, who had long served the club, but to amend the perception rural people were somehow less welcoming than their urban peers.

"Sometimes country communities can be seen as slightly behind the times, and it’s really good to show it definitely isn't that way,” he said.

“It's a really good sort of example to be setting to other country towns and leagues.” 

The coach, who defected from Colbinabbin this year to take on the top job, also invited Keane to speak to his charges before the game.

It was an invitation Keane accepted, albeit with some trepidation.  

“It was an interesting experience because my father, brother, two of my cousins and a lot of school friends were there, people who had contributed to some of the difficulties I'd experienced as a gay child,” he said.

The speech, thanking the players for their support and pressing upon them the hardships faced by gay people in conservative environments, garnered a response very different to the one Keane might have expected ten years ago.

Like the wearing of shoelaces, those responses were simple, yet powerful, gestures: shaking hands, respectful nods and an invitation to share a beer at day’s end.

Keane’s 25-year-old brother, Tom, travels to Wycheproof each weekend to play for the Demons and was among those who lined up for Saturday’s match.

He said it had become easier for him to talk about Matt’s sexuality since he first found out six years ago.  

“When I was growing up it wasn't something that was readily discussed in the footy club or in the community,” he said.

“It was always a concern that once it got out you might be alienated from the town, and it was tough to figure out a way to get the word out to family and friends.”

Keane's story is familiar to footballer-turned-politician Jason Ball. 

The Greens candidate for the inner Melbourne seat of Higgins at this year's federal election became a household name when he publicly came out to, and took a stand against homophobia at, Yarra Glen Football Club.  

Ball and his team have spearheaded the Pride Cup, an annual diversity-themed match and an event the AFL will echo next month when Sydney and St Kilda meet in the league's first gay pride game. 

The 28-year-old said gestures like those taken by the Wycheproof-Narraport Demons made sports clubs a more welcoming place for people of diverse sexualities and gender identities.

"For generations we've had people who are gay playing sport and feeling like they don't belong," he said.

"We've also had people not playing sport, or pulling out, because they don't feel like that environment is accepting of who they are."

Ball said the language used at football clubs was responsible for many people feeling unwelcome, and it did not have to be homophobic slurs which pushed them away.

Even an invitation to invite ‘girlfriends’ to a function – instead of ‘partners’ – could ostracise LGBTI players, he said. 

Tom Keane said on-field talk had cleaned up in recent years, with pejorative terms like ‘faggot’ no longer commonplace. However, names used to emasculate players, like ‘fairy’ and ‘princess’, were still a problem. 

“I don't think that will ever be stamped out,” he said. 

Matt Keane was worried Saturday’s initiative might be an unwelcome distraction for the Demons ahead of the top-two meet, but his home club ran out winners by 64 points.

"It probably helped us focus, having something extra to play for," Bull said.

Coverage of the match has meant Keane had to order more rainbow shoelaces. He has sent out 200 pairs of the multi-coloured accoutrement, which can now be found on the feet of people in every state and territory of Australia. 

He intends to donate funds from An Equal Footing to the Pinnacle Foundation, an organisation that funds the education of LGBTI youth whose sexuality has seen them face disadvantage. 

To order laces, visit www.anequalfooting.com.au.