Having grown up amongst sporting high-achievers, Angie Greene (OM 2004) laughingly describes herself as “the passionate black sheep of the family”. Now the founder and CEO of Stand Up Events, Angie says key early experiences prompted her to work against what she saw as a widespread culture of homophobia in Australian sport.
“My dad’s in the Hawthorn FC Hall of Fame, my oldest brother played in the AFL and my granddad was a Grand Slam tennis champion,” the former Grimwade House student explains. “But the reality is inclusivity isn’t always part of our sporting culture. One of my older brothers came out to me when I was 13, and seeing what he went through in the sporting arena had a profound effect on me.”
An early desire for a fairer world
After studying counselling and sociology, Angie was about to begin offering therapy for clients when she realised she wasn’t on the right path. “I knew, to my core, that I wanted to create safer and more inclusive spaces for the queer community,” she says. “From a really young age I had a strong sense of social justice. My brother’s story is just one part of what motivated me, but I also grew up with a lot of queer family members and friends. I’ve lost five friends to suicide, all men under 30, and I’ve seen many people be picked on or belittled for just being exactly who they are.”
In 2015, Angie launched Stand Up Events, a not-for-profit incorporated association working with schools, corporate clients, and sporting clubs of all kinds to encourage inclusivity and acceptance. Deeply committed to her cause, Angie also understands that passion alone isn’t always enough to create lasting change.
“I needed evidence to prove that what we were doing mattered,” she explains. “In 2019, we managed to raise enough money for Monash University to conduct research with men between 16 and 20, looking at why homophobia is so prevalent in male-dominated sports, and what could be done about it.
“We worked with three AFL players – Jayden Hunt, Jordan Roughhead, and Tom Campbell – who led workshops sharing practical, tangible ways to create safer spaces. I owe so much to them.”
The journey is far from over
As Stand Up Events’ only staff member, Angie’s day can include anything from meeting with sponsors and running events to discussing cultural issues with professional-level players. She emphasises that while progress has been made, homophobia is still prevalent in Australian sport.
“It was only last year that we saw four very public examples of this on the AFL field,” Angie says. “Our research demonstrated that homophobic language is still normalised in many aspects of sport, which means people don’t speak up when it’s used. While this language doesn’t necessarily reflect homophobic attitudes, it has a profound effect.
“A lot of gay men remove themselves from team sports from a young age, even today,” Angie adds. “Why would you put yourself in an environment where you don’t know whether you can be yourself or not?”
Through Stand Up Events, Angie says she hopes to encourage genuine conversation, acknowledging that many people may not seek greater understanding for fear of offending others or appearing ignorant. “People out there genuinely want to learn, and we need to create a space where they can ask questions without the fear of making a mistake,” she says.
“For professional sportspeople, everything’s interlinked,” Angie adds. “When your mental and emotional wellbeing is strong, you perform better. If my work helps even one person to feel more seen as themselves, or to make them empowered by not just being a by-stander, that’s how I measure “success”, because that is when the ripple effects begin to happen.”
To find out more about Stand Up Events and how you can support their work, visit: wearestandupevents.com
