Western Bulldogs defender Bob Murphy wants people to lose their “sick fascination” with which AFL footballers might be gay.

While no AFL player has yet come out, the 29-year-old said if any footballer did choose to reveal they were homosexual, he doubted it would create any awkwardness within the league.

But Murphy said in his view, members of the public were unhealthily keen to find out how many AFL players were gay and who they were.

“I think there’s a bit of a sick fascination I hear from people on the street about who it is and how many there is,” Murphy told reporters on Wednesday.

“I think that’s really irrelevant.

“It’s about an environment of accepting not just people who are gay, but from all walks of life and different outlooks on things.

“The culture of footy now is one that’s very accepting. This club’s one of great acceptance.”

Asked why he regarded such curiosity as sick, Murphy said: “There’s an undertone of something that I don’t really like too much.”

His comments came after NRL grand final referee Matt Cecchin revealed in a newspaper article on Sunday that he is gay.

That prompted ex-Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett to say he believed about five per cent of AFL players were gay, but chose not to reveal that fact because of fear about how teammates would treat them.

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said the league were doing what they could to create a culture in which sexual preference was not a subject of discrimination.

That included having amended their anti-vilification rules to cover sexuality.

But he said Kennett might still be right to say that gay footballers remained scared to let team-mates know.

“That very well may be the case,” Demetriou said.

“It’s a personal choice, it’s not just an issue that’s relevant within the AFL.”

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said people had the right to live how they wished.

“I’d be encouraging people to be themselves,” Buckley said.

“I’ve heard Jeff Kennett’s comments and obviously it’s quite a public issue with the NRL ref who came out.

“That’s fantastic … you’d like to think that in society, we embrace all different types of people who have all different types of choices and everyone can live their life however they wish.

“As long as it’s not affecting anyone else.”