The Collard case should prompt a rethink on homophobia

April 27, 2026 — 5:52pm

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The Lance Collard case did not end the career of the player who was found to have made a homophobic slur for the second time, but it did end the tenure of the appeal board chairman whose reasoning for reducing the ban stunned the AFL.

It is rare to find agreement within AFL circles on tribunal and appeal board findings. The reaction to Will Houghton’s reasoning – as distinct from his generous verdict that cut Collard’s suspension – was one of those blue moons within the footy universe.

No one – certainly no one at club, AFL level or within socially literate player ranks – concurred with the reasoning of the now former appeals board chairman and noted King’s Counsel.

For those who didn’t read the incendiary section of his judgement, he said: “It is commonplace that players can employ language from time to time which is racist, sexist or homophobic whilst on the field”.

One did not need to be an activist within the LGBTQ communities to be dumbfounded. The AFL Players’ Association, headed by AFLPA president and Collingwood skipper Darcy Moore, made plain that they did not agree. As did the AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon, who has made the eradication of homophobia from the game a priority for his administration.

In a process that was tortured, drawn out and did not benefit any parties, possibly exempting Collard, the dismissal of Houghton by the AFL was a brief moment of decisive clarity.

Long-time gay community activist Tony Keenan, who has closely followed the embarrassing Collard case and previous suspensions for homophobia by AFL-listed players, observed of the Collard case: “The worst aspect of the whole saga is the comments by the appeals board (chairman). They set back years of progress and did more damage than whatever Collard said.”

Whatever Collard said was contested, unfortunately. The accusation that he had used the f-word – highly offensive to the gay community – was vigorously fought, with lawyers at 20 paces, in part because of fears that the nine-week ban imposed (with two weeks suspended) could end the player’s career. The AFL........

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