The Roar
The Roar

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We need to talk about Israel. Again

Israel Folau is posing problems for Rugby AU, and they aren't going away. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
Editor
9th May, 2018
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5877 Reads

Israel Folau has become a problem for Rugby Australia, and the game’s governing body must do something meaningful about him.

The star fullback has once again courted controversy with a social media post which, while advocating his religious beliefs, has been fairly described as anti-gay and homophobic.

When Folau first posted that God’s plan for gay people is “HELL”, Rugby Australia CEO Raelene Castle said he “could have put a more positive spin on the message”. Folau’s response to that has been to prefix his latest post “With great love I wanted to share this video…”, as if that somehow makes the 11-minute sermon which calls for an end to tolerance of same-sex marriage upbeat and inclusive.

Now, as I’ll no doubt be reminded in the comments section, Folau is entirely entitled to express his beliefs, whether religious or otherwise. The flipside of that argument is anyone else is entitled to call out his opinion as harmful, uninclusive, devoid of love, and possibly (probably, even?) dangerous.

They’re also entitled to say that Folau so perseveringly preaching a message about gay people repenting – all the while remaining coincidentally silent on the passages in the Bible about slavery and other practices which society has rightly changed its mind on in the past two millennia – might actually indicate a genuine personal belief, not just a desire to spread what’s written in the ‘Good Book’.

So Folau’s freedom of speech is being compromised no more than that of his critics. This isn’t an issue of Folau’s rights. It’s an issue of practicality for his employers.

Rugby AU’s woes – those of their own making and more – have been well publicised. Their $17.8 million surplus last year only came about thanks to some $21.6 million in government funding, leaving them with an operational deficit of $3.8 million.

The organisation is hardly in the position to be losing major sponsors, yet that is the risk they run when their highest-paid, highest-profile player keeps spouting uninclusive and harmful messages.

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Qantas was far less than impressed with Folau’s ‘gays to hell’ comment last month, and one wonders what the airline is thinking now.

CEO Alan Joyce was one of the highest-profile supporters of the Yes campaign in last year’s same-sex marriage plebiscite. He and his organisation are entitled to make sponsorship decisions however they so choose, but a lack of success on the field and Folau’s comments off it surely make the Wallabies a far less enticing proposition than they once were – and not just for Qantas. What company would want to align themselves with a team whose star player regularly courts outrage?

Israel Folau Wallabies Australia Rugby Union 2017

(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Raelene Castle trod delicately over the issue when she fronted the press about Folau in early April – probably the right move with Folau off contract at the end of the year.

But Folau has shown he has no intention of changing the way he uses social media since then. Regardless of his right to do so, yesterday’s post indicates either an incredible naivete around the practicalities of the situation or a flat-out lack of care.

His posts also breach Rugby AU’s Code of Conduct, which, under Part 2, 1.6, states that players cannot “make any public comment that would likely be detrimental to the best interests, image and welfare of the Game, a team, a club, a competition or Union.” If Folau didn’t know that his comment in April wasn’t in the best interests of the game, he certainly would have before hitting ‘Tweet’ yesterday.

I don’t envy Castle and Rugby AU. They’re facing a situation in which they cannot win. Fine or otherwise sanction Folau and they risk losing their best-performed player since his international debut, robbing the Wallabies of their most dangerous attacking weapon a year out from the World Cup.

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Alternatively, support Folau and allow him to keep posting what he’s posting, and Rugby AU will get further offside with the public and risk losing valuable sponsorship dollars.

Neither is a palatable option, but it’s time for Rugby AU to publicly and decisively pick one and stick to it.

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