Today is International Day Against Homophobia, and it has a link to sport.

Dr Pippa Grange, writing in today's Melbourne Age on behalf of the AFL Players Association, particularly stresses the unnecessary emphasis placed on whether an AFL player will "come out" and declare his homosexuality. Her logic and strength of message are sound but, more than anything, the continuing dialogue led by the AFL PA on the importance of removing the "otherness" of homosexuality is so important in increasing community awareness of the unacceptability of homophobic behaviour.

While Grange argues that public '‘coming out'' should be unnecessary, we still all have a role in ensuring that those who do '‘come out'' can be proud of their decision, and of who they are. The AFL PA's campaign promoting tolerance and diversity is a fantastic start, and I hope other sports can follow suit.

Last month, swimmer Daniel "Killer" Kowalski's made the gutsy decision to publicly ‘come out' in a column that left me feeling both proud and sad. Proud of the courage Killer displayed in coming out so publicly and revealing his struggles so candidly; but ashamed that the sporting world that I am a part of is also a world where a wonderful person like Killer for so long felt unable to be himself.

Knowing what Killer went through makes me agree wholeheartedly with Grange's argument that any AFL player who may be homosexual should not have their career defined by their sexuality, but that their sexuality be just one part of their whole unique story.

Killer has played a huge role in not only my sporting development, but also my life. As a kid, I idolised him from afar - the courageous and sportsmanslike hero who kept his good humour even when pipped at the post by the likes of superhuman Kieren Perkins and Grant Hackett.

More recently, Killer has taken on the role of Athlete Career and Education Advisor at the Victorian Institute of Sport. What was adulation from afar soon became rich respect for a wonderful advisor, mentor and friend. I am not alone in singing the praises of a man who has given so much to so many others.

I only wish that we - the sporting community - had done more sooner to make our world a more inclusive one. Kowalski has always, and will always, have our 100% backing for the wonderful person that he is - straight, gay or other.

Indeed, as mentioned by Grange, the AFL PA campaign against homophobia was one of the triggers for Kowalski to publicly announce that he was gay. This campaign is a good one, and sends a powerful message. It is also a campaign that in a perfect world should not be necessary.

I truly hope that Killer's courage will give confidence to all people, whether sporting or not and whether gay or straight, to be proud of who they are. Homophobic beliefs are unacceptable, and I hope that our wider sporting community can join with the AFLPA in firmly sending this message. That the English Premier League aborted their anti-homophobia campaign earlier this year due to insufficient support within its own ranks is a sad indictment of a prejudiced community. It is also evidence of a sport that is turning its back on one of the very cornerstones of sporting culture - inclusiveness.

I have long believed in the power of sport to celebrate difference. The black line of a swimming pool and the stopwatch know no social prejudice. Black skin and white skin streamline just the same. Kids from single parent families, homosexual parent families, rich families, poor families and immigrant families can all blow the same bubbles in the water and tumble turn just the same. We can all share the same dreams on a magical sporting journey.

I love my sport of rowing because of its ability to bring together a rich melange of different people and unite them with a common goal. For a boat to go fast we must work together in perfect harmony, placing our oars and extracting them with flawless precision. There is no room for prejudice, the oars know no personality. We work together - and bond - irrespective of our off-field passions, pursuits or relationships.

Our Beijing gold medal double scull was made up of a politics-loving Geelong supporter and a Tasmanian medical doctor. Their one similarity was a penchant for bad puns. The former, David Crawshay, believed in the power of the spirit in achieving goals, the latter, Scott Brennan, believed in the power of the mind. Their coach, Rhett Ayliffe, dubbed the duo Faith and Reason. Their victory emphasised the importance of respecting one another irrespective of difference in approach or personality.

Killer wrote that loneliness was the hardest part of being gay - and still is. But sport should be a bastion where loneliness is alleviated by a support network of friends that see no colour, no race and no boundaries of sexual orientation. We should be there for each other no matter what. Difference brings value to any team, making sport a world where individuality should be celebrated. And excuse the pun, but when it comes to sporting dreams, we are all batting for the same team.

The entire sporting world stands together today - and every other day - in fighting against homophobia.