Retired Olympic swimmer Daniel Kowalski has slammed comments by former Brownlow medallist Jason Akermanis encouraging gay players to stay in the closet.

Akermanis wrote in his weekly Herald Sun column on Thursday that coming out was unnecessary "for a lot of reasons".

He said an openly gay player could make his team-mates uncomfortable and coming out could "break the fabric of a club".

The Western Bulldogs released a statement on Thursday afternoon saying they disagree with Akermanis' comments and his opinions were not shared by the club.

Kowalski, a four-time Olympic medallist who publicly revealed he was gay last month, says Akermanis has abused his position as a newspaper columnist.

"I'm disappointed, I'm mad, I'm angry, I'm sad," Kowalski told Triple M radio.

"When you get comments like that from a guy of his stature, why would you come out?

"It's disappointing more than anything. Jason Akermanis has always been known for being a human headline.

"I'm at a loss because a lot of work has been done by Pippa Grange and the AFL Players' Association and there is support and it's continuing to gather.

"He talks in a sense of 'we' like he's speaking for every player in the AFL."

Kowalski says his fear of being hated, spat on and abused prevented him from coming out earlier.

"I didn't have the balls to do it, I worried what people would think," he said.

"You're brought up in this culture that it's wrong to be gay, especially in sport.

"I was scared but since I've come out publicly, my life isn't really any different, but the support has been overwhelming and I wish I could've done it sooner."

Akermanis questioned the wisdom of any gay players coming out.

"There's been a little bit of a gay hunting going on where we're trying to get people to come out," Akermanis told the Nine Network.

"I'm not sure that's very safe and healthy for the competition. What you do in your private life is your business."

He says AFL footballers are at their peak of masculinity, which means homophobia is "almost at its peak".

"Some footballers think there's something wrong with people, they have some kind of disease," he said.

Akermanis quickly clarified that he did not personally hold those views, pointing out that he played in Queensland with a gay player, who he thinks is "a terrific guy" and "tough and courageous".

"I'm ready. I'm fine with it all," he said.

"But some of my, the homoeroticism around football clubs ... what workplace would you be able to see 20 men nude all the time if you wanted to?

"When you're slapping blokes on the bum and just having a bit of fun, what would that do to a man in there when you actually work out, 'Oh wait a second, wait a second. I don't know if I can handle that guy'".

His comments expanded on the weekly column he wrote for the Herald Sun that focused on the issue.

In March, Collingwood president Eddie McGuire said he has shared a wink and a nod with a few gay men inside the AFL.

He told gay magazine DNA that he has decided to keep their sexuality a secret.

"I've had my suspicions and there are a couple in particular that I've known quite well and they've nodded to me and I've winked to them, but they didn't want to take that next step in making it public," he said.

In 1995, rugby league international Ian Roberts announced he was gay and Olympic gold medallist Matthew Mitcham was the only Australian athlete at the Beijing Games to be openly gay.

- AAP