Brown adores greyhound racing, a sport he has been involved in since boyhood in south-west Victoria. He still has close family ties in the industry.

But the ABC’s Four Corners program on Monday night rocked the greyhound game to the core with its live-baiting scandal and forced Brown into a corner.

The footage sickened viewers and sent shockwaves through the industry. 

Major sponsors ran for cover amid loud calls from the animal rights lobby to close down the sport. 

There are two schools of thought about Brown’s options, one being that he should have stood his ground, the other that he had no choice but to sever ties with a sport fighting accusations of widespread cruelty. 

Brown, a three-time premiership player, garners a great deal of respect in the community and a man of his profile could have stood up for the industry in its hour of need.

He could have publicly condemned the minority that has blackened the sport’s name, called for calm and slowly helped the industry regain some acceptance.

He might even have been able to persuade sponsors to hold their nerve and in time he might have been able to put things right again.

Instead, he walked away. He had to.

The dilemma for Brown was that he has many commitments, not just in the greyhound business. 

With lucrative connections to Fox, Nova FM, Carlton and United Breweries, Toyota and Four ’N Twenty to name a few, the way forward could not have been clearer.

There is no way his corporate employers would have tolerated the public relations disaster associated with their man supporting a tainted industry.

Brown would have quickly found himself with one job only — ambassador for the greyhound industry.

The day may well come when Brown can slip back into a role for the sport he loves, but for now it will have to put its house in order without him.