UPDATE: Rugby Australia issues statement on Israel Folau article

FFS The game is bigger than one player

You need some English lessons Ben

And here we thought we were defending peoples rights to their beliefs including atheism.

A woman's dismissal/suspension for expressing an opinion anonymously opposing her employer's public service policy in immigration was overturned because it was anonymous - not exactly the same as the Public service Act has set criteria about the govts policy as against the RUs policy on gay rights which may change..Its different in that there were other facts - however when will ewe ever learn with social media?

He was asked a question and he sprouted his religious belief - not everyones cup of tea but that's his belief - do I have to agree with a Muslim who thinks we should all convert to Islam - no but thtas his right

Actually on reflection I agree with you TJ went a bit too far. Obviously he took it very personally that his close family members were automatically consigned to hell or their sins according to Folau.

Not at all he has every right to say what he did. I have no issue that he disagrees with what Folau said, as do I BTW. The issue is he takes it further, and being non inclusive, is how he hates having to play rugby with him, basically taking it to the natural conclusion if he had his way all people who did not agree with him on this issue should be sacked from rugby. That is no inclusive at all.

Not sure why people keep referring to Hell as a place you go to after you die. Im not a biblical scholar but I think the Bible talks about eternal life, eternal damnation & inheriting the kingdom of god in spiritual terms not mortal terms ie you don’t need to shake off the mortal coil in experience either option.

Ben, why do you believe Folau removed the post from his Twitter? I find that incongruous with your point. If it was a perfectly fine thing to say why take it down so quickly?

Great cut & paste from Wikipedia there. Unfortunately for your argument the game of Rugby Union developed prior to the mid 19th century. It was being played before 1823. The first official rules were put down in 1842 I believe. You seem to have confused the game of Rugby with the public school called Rugby in your in-depth research in the movement. Tom Browns school days is a great read about mid century public school life by the way.

"Comments that cause further harm cannot be tolerated"...

In the end, we are not robots. Sure we have contracts/agreements etc to do with our line of work, but we, if we believe in a 'free' society, should be able to express our ideas, even if they do offend. It's not so much a right to free speech as some have argued on this site, but free speech is the mechanism by which we are able to sort through issues that we as a society face. None of us have a higher moral authority than the other, so discourse is how our society sorts through these types of issues. Shutting people up, does not solve anything.

700+ comments Huh? Probably nobody will read mine. Anyway, the issue seems to be the extent to which RA & Qantas can expect to exert control of Folau's behaviour. Perhaps there were two contracts drawn up. Offer 1 "We will pay you $x and make you a poster boy. In return, we expert you to say and do X off field, and agree not to say or do Y" Offer 2 "We will pay you $x/2 to play. Provided you don't defame or vilify someone (that is, break the law) your off field time is your own." There are analogies with Tony Abbott and Miss World. The "broad church" of the Liberal Party grudgingly allows Abbott to snipe away. If they want him to toe the party line, Turnbull would have to bring him into cabinet, where he would be muzzled by cabinet solidarity. If I get crowned Miss World, I believe I have to sign some documents, agreeing to perform some meritorious tasks over the next 12 months, plus refrain from slagging off minorities, etc. If I drop the ball, they have the right take away the money and tiara.

Nah TJ has stood up for his beliefs and for tolerance. Good for him. History will judge people like you to be part of the problem though. And by the way, labelling everyone you disagree with as virtue signallers is a sign of just how lame your argument is.

So attacking bigotry is non inclusive? Your arguments on this issue are jesuitical.

Obviously many PIs have a more subtle appreciation of the issues than you give them credit for.

The major thing you are missing is that TJ is not telling you, Folau or anyone else to shut up or hide your beliefs. Not a single word.

Religious nutbag says current version of invisible sky wizard will send now non-existent person to non-existent place. Welcome to 99% of human history.

Muscular Christianity was a philosophical movement that originated in England in the mid-19th century, characterised by a belief in patriotic duty, manliness, the moral and physical beauty of athleticism, teamwork, discipline, self-sacrifice, and "the expulsion of all that is effeminate. Ruby Levick's 1901 statue, Rugby Football, is a monument to the cult of muscular Christianity that developed in English public schools in the nineteenth century. The phrase "muscular Christianity" probably first appeared in an 1857 English review of Charles Kingsley's novel Two Years Ago (1857). One year later, the same phrase was used to describe Tom Brown's School Days, an 1856 novel about life at Rugby.

Exactly and thanks, Shane D @2.35pm. I think I get it @ piru but Jumbo went a little bit further by doing a Folau and posting gems like, Well since I am maori, Im telling you being grouped with pacific islanders is offensive to some. Only outside of nz do they think we are the same. Nothing in common …. We consider ourselves nzers not islanders. … Let break it down for you. Tongans, fijians, samoans, cook is, and all other people’s of the islands are pacific islanders. Maori are from New Zealand. TBH, I’ve never come across such claptrap ever. If, however some people think like Jumbo, this may well suggest that the pakeha has won in making them think that they are different and have nothing in common with PI’s. I wonder if it then makes them feel a little superior. Doesn’t it make you want to puke at such rubbish. It’s also a sad reminder of the Dawn raids, a common event in Auckland, New Zealand, during a crackdown on illegal overstayers from the Pacific Islands from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. If it’s not ok in Folau’s case, it’s equally not ok to let Jumbo off, particularly, if he thinks it’s ok to promote such racist 20th Century NZ government policy of divisiveness in the 21st Century. So, when Taika Waititi called NZ as racist last week, I guess he’s also calling out the Jumbos of NZ. For Jumbo’s information: * the indigenous Polynesian people of Hawai’i or their descendants are Maoli, * likewise, with the Tahitian and Rapanui (Easter Island) Maohi people, and then, * you have the Cook Islands Maori. They are all proud Maori and Jumbo, being a Maori himself, has a lot in common with them as well as Tongans, Fijians and Samoans. Dig a little deeper and Jumbo will find his DNA also came from the people living in Papua New Guinea when his Maori ancestors stopped by while on their long voyage to NZ. I could go on but suffice to say that Maori are from the Pacific Islands and not just NZ. Just accept it as there’s nothing you can do to change that, Jumbo.