Gold Coast Sun's Max Knobel was slapped with a four-match suspension on Thursday evening after admitting insulting a Brisbane opponent last weekend.
Local media noted that it was the ninth similar incident since the start of 2024.
"Ridding the game of homophobia requires alignment from the entire industry," said player union boss James Gallagher.
"As it stands, the game hasn't done the work to develop a more holistic solution through meaningful engagement with the LGBTQIA+ community, bespoke education, as well as an appropriate disciplinary process."
Australian rules has long been marred by incidents of homophobia and racism.
The sport's governing body, the AFL, has taken an increasingly strong stance in recent years, developing an inclusion action plan in a bid to ensure the sport is "safe and inclusive for everyone".
But problems persist.
In April, the chair of its appeals board was fired after provoking outrage by reducing a player's penalty for using a homophobic slur because offensive language was "commonplace" on the field.
"Homophobia and homophobic language have absolutely no place anywhere and we will continue to stamp out any conduct that does not reflect our values," AFL chief operating officer Tom Harley said after the Knobel sanction.
"We acknowledge that Max has self-reported the matter and accepted ownership of his mistake, however the incident demonstrates that there is still more work to be done."