Brian Brown says there was some sense of relief from the family when his son, Jonathan, told them of his plans to retire from football.

Brian knows all too well the dangers of playing at the highest level, having represented Fitzroy in 51 matches throughout the late 70s and early 80s, but was forced to spectate from the sidelines along with his wife, Mary, while his son suffered a number of frightening head collisions over the past few years.

Any parent would understand their anguish.

“It was certainly a sad day, but we (the family) were quite relieved about it all,” Brian Brown told SEN Radio in Melbourne on Tuesday.

“There’s still a lot of life to live yet and we’d hate to see what consequences could have come, had he gone on and gotten another whack.”

Brown senior also revealed that there really wasn’t any other real alternative to retirement, with the medical advice received “overwhelming” in favour of Jonathan hanging up the boots.

But Brian said the decision was ultimately left up to his son, with the family presenting a sounding board for him when he needed.  

“We had a few discussions throughout the course of the week, and we’ve supported him all the way through,” he said.

“I sensed early (last) week that he was probably going to come to that decision.”

As for the future, Brown still isn’t certain what type of work his son might pursue now his playing days are over.

“If you asked me five years ago (whether he’d pursue coaching) I would’ve said yes. He still might, but I think he just wants to break away from (football) at the moment,” he said.

“When Vossy was coaching, he actually saw how much time was involved, and thought to himself that he probably didn’t need to have that type of commitment just yet.”