Ball, appointed a Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia in the King's Birthday Honours List, says the suspension of two AFL players for homophobic insults is a sign that attitudes are changing.
But the amateur footballer who came out as gay in 2012 and subsequently became a spokesperson for LGBTQI issues in sport says "there is still a long way to go".
Port Adelaide's Jeremy Finlayson and Gold Coast's Wil Powell were given three and five-game suspensions respectively in April and May by the AFL for homophobic slurs aimed at opponents.
"It's a mixture of being disappointed but also not surprised," Ball told AAP.
"Within these incidents, there are signs that culture and attitudes are changing because the players owned up to it.
"They were very quick in apologising, they were willing to apologise to the LGBTQ community who are impacted by this kind of language.
"And that has come a long way since 2012 ... these days people are getting it.
"The AFL coming down and setting an example of them, that is going to have an impact on the culture, that is the leadership that we need to see."
Ball's King's Birthday honour is for service to the community through social inclusion initiatives - he founded the Pride Cup which, in the past six years, has had 800 community sporting clubs participate.
"I was an accidental activist," he said.
"I was just a country footballer ... I could never have predicted that it would become my life's work, at least for the last 12 years."
Ball is among a batch of sporting honour recipients in Sunday's list also featuring Australian cricket great Glenn McGrath and golfer Peter Senior.
McGrath has been appointed an Officer (AO) of the Order of Australia in the General Division.
The 54-year-old is renowned as one of Australia's greatest fast bowlers but his latest gong is for service to community health through breast cancer support.
McGrath's first wife, Jane, died from breast cancer in 2008.
Six years earlier, Glenn and Jane formed the McGrath Foundation, which raises money to fund breast care nurses across the country.
Golf stalwart Senior, who won 35 tournaments as a professional, has been appointed a Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia for service to his beloved sport.
Dual Olympic hurdler Penelope Gillies, who competed at the 1972 and 1980 Games, is also awarded an OAM for her contributions as an athlete and coach, with the same honour bestowed on former Socceroos captain Kevin O'Neill.
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