Ben Cousins says he has been humbled by the support of friends and the wider community after it was revealed his father Bryan has been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease.

Bryan, a WA football great, was reduced to tears as he made the personal and emotional revelation over the weekend, inspired by the tragic passing of MND campaigner and AFL great Neale Daniher.

Ben said he is “going OK” following the diagnosis amid an outpouring of support for the Cousins family over the past few days.

“It’s a tough thing to accept initially for all of us but from my own experience, particularly with the close relationship I have with dad and the role he’s played in my life, I continue to be really proud of him and in times of adversity,” he told Mix94.5.

“Off the back of the weekend (when his diagnosis was made public), I’m just really humbled by the goodwill and support from so many people that I’m friends with or sometimes haven’t seen or spoken to in a long time.

“And even just in the community, the goodwill is nice.”

It’s understood Bryan, 72, was diagnosed with MND last year but had been motivated by Daniher’s passing to share his own story.

Daniher died peacefully late last month at the age of 65, having raised over $100 million for medical research into a cure since being diagnosed in 2013.

Ben said he initially grappled with his father’s private diagnosis being made public but acknowledged it will help his family and others living with the disease, as well as raising awareness

“I didn’t know how I felt about that changing but now that it has happened, it will be an important part of moving through the process and the next step in processing exactly what’s happening,” he said.

“It comes at a time where we are honouring and celebrating the life of Neale Daniher and the contribution he’s made in his life.

“We don’t, but dad also doesn’t, have to look far for some inspiration and I did hear dad refer to Neale Daniher on the weekend as the commander in chief of the MND army.

“Now more than ever, we as a family have to rally together and stare this down together, the only way we know how.”

Bryan, who played 238 games for Perth in the WAFL and 67 for Geelong in the VFL, revealed his diagnosis during a one-on-one Q&A at Swan Districts Football Club hosted by club patron and distinguished cancer researcher Professor Bruce Robinson.

“I went to a neurologist and I started looking at what I might have and I got the one thing I didn’t want which was MND,” he said.

“I got teary, mainly because I thought — how am I going to tell the kids?”