Leigh Ryswyk: Former AFL player becomes first to come out as gay

A former Aussie Rules player has come out as gay, becoming the first man in the sport to do so.

Leigh Ryswyk played one match for the Brisbane Lions in 2005 in the Australian Football League (AFL) before he was delisted due to injuries. He went on to play more than 220 games for North Adelaide in the South Australian league.

Ryswyk shared the news in a radio interview on Wednesday, saying he had been openly gay among his friends for five years and when he told his parents, they were supportive.

It comes seven months after Mitch Brown - who played for the West Coast Eagles between 2007 and 2016 - came out as bisexual, the first time n AFL player has done so in the sport's 129-year history.

Prior to Brown's news, the AFL had been the only major professional men's sport globally to never have had an openly gay or bisexual player, even after retirement.