There are so many angles I could have taken in regards to yesterday afternoon’s Instagram post by Israel Folau.
The first is the power dynamic within Rugby Australia, and whether Raelene Castle and the rest of the boardroom have the willingness to let go a player so crucial to the Wallabies chances at this year’s World Cup.
Another would have been the player dynamic between an individual such as Folau and more progressive thinker and just as an important player in David Pocock – and what that meant for the squad.
But it was my instant gut reaction, that what I am about to articulate that is the motive for this article.
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Please Israel, keep your opinions to yourself, no one wants to hear them!
And to Raelene Castle, it is time to give him the flick.
I say these things not because I worry for the Wallabies brand, or because I worry for the Wallabies squad culture going into this year’s World Cup.
It’s also not because I’m concerned about losing sponsors.
I write this not because of the aforementioned but of what we know regarding the mental health of our gay brothers and sisters.
That’s where my heart went when I read the Folau’s Post, to the LGBTI community who suffer more than most.
A recent study revealed several things about the position of LGBTI people in society.
LGBTI young people are twice as likely to be diagnosed with a mental health condition, six times more likely to have suicidal thoughts and five times more likely to make an attempt on their life than their heterosexual peers.
Stigma and prejudice have been associated with a shorter life expectancy of approximately 12 years for sexual minorities living in high-prejudice communities.
Harassment or abuse against LGBT people is an indicator of poorer mental health, with those experiencing harassment or abuse reporting higher levels of psychological distress.
To those that will defend Israel Folau, please consider the above first. Just as he has freedom of speech, we all have freedom to denounce those comments and call for his instant banishment from the game.
To the LGTBI community, as your humble amateur sports columnist I stand with you against prejudice. Unlike thieves, adulterers etc you were born that way.
Unlike thieves and adulterers you should be proud of who you are! And I tell you speaking with the authority of a lapsed Catholic if there is a heaven or a hell, a gay man, woman or transgender person will not be judged on their sexuality or identity but based on how we all will be judged.
That is by how much love we show each other.
Istanbul Wingman
Roar Guru
Always a bit of a prima donna anyway. That failure to pass on an overlap against Argentina, directly costing the Wallabies the win, was unforgivable. Reminded me of the pass Warwick Taylor failed to send out to Victor Simpson in the All Blacks' draw with Argentina in 85. & Simpson let him know about it too!
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Not quite. No matter what, it has to be decided by a Code of Conduct hearing. That's the contractual process. RA have publicly said they intend to terminate his contract. What's not said, but actually implied, is that it is pending this.
Rugby Tragic
Roar Rookie
Well TWAS, based on lastest developments, I see these conditions are about to be tested by Folau with RUPA support.
Malotru
Roar Rookie
Forget about Izzy folks, after all 'he's not the messiah he's a very naughty boy' as there is another way of looking at this. Sacking Folau could fit the interests of Michael Cheika, Raelene Castle and the ARU board admirably. Now any level of success at the World Cup can now be viewed as a great achievement and failure simply explained. The Wallabies failed because they were without their #1 star/the Wallabies did really well considering they were without their #1 star. Thereby securing the futures of all concerned at least for another couple of years. Essentially the Folau saga, boring as it is, is just another in the long lineup of ARU disasters. No doubt Giacomo Puccini would have dreamt of coming up with opera plots as tantalising as some of the ARU's machinations.
Waxhead
Roar Rookie
of course - Optus would fire ur ass within 5 mins :) And it happens every week too. Some idiot mouths off in social media and pays the price. Folau can join the list. Wallabies won't make it past the QF of World Cup anyway - with or without him.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Great article.
TimO
Roar Rookie
I propose a special amendment to the Giteau rule. You can pick an overseas based player, if it's what you need to do to replace a local player, if they are like for like, except you don't want to select the local player because they are a complete tool. This would mean Morahan goes to world cup and Folau stays home.
piru
Roar Rookie
I suspect he doesn't believe that strongly and is just following along under peer pressure, personally.
liquorbox_
Roar Rookie
for someone with his faith losing a job is only a minor thing, others with similar levels of faith strap bombs to themselves and murder sinners
taylorman
Roar Guru
Yes but this bloke might go broke :-)
Isaac Buatava
Roar Pro
Cheers Waxhead, one point that I didn't think of, that was made in the comments section of the article by Daniel Jeffrey, and i am paraphrasing, was that if you work for Optus, sure you have the freedom to go and tell customers to join the other telcos but you would justifiably get fired.
Waxhead
Roar Rookie
Isaac is right imo. Roarers go read the other much longer article and comments there where some common sense has finally arrived. The central issue here is that it appears Folau has broken his RA contract - again. He was warned last yr for same offence and had his contract amended to make it more specific to prevent him from doing brand damage to his employers. This has nothing to do with free speech rights in Aust law. He can think and say these things with impunity under Aust law but the contract he signed to comply with prevents him from saying those things in public. It's a contract issue for RA is all. RA don't want him making such comments to the general public because it has such potential to hurt them financially. The fallout could likely result in sponsors withdrawing support, loss of fan support, loss of TV ratings etc etc. That's the right of his employers RA - and it's a very common clause in 1000s of Australian workplace contracts. If he didn't like that clause he should not have signed the contract. Then on top there's the ethical issue of deliberately telling several at risk minority groups they are evil and are going to hell. The reality is that his employers probly couldn't care less but anybody with moral ethics should imo. So I completely agree with Isaac on that issue :)
Doctordbx
Roar Rookie
Yes?
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Part of that is because of lack of mechanisms to act unfortunately. Without actually breaking any laws it's difficult to punish Anning, without the voters (hopefully) doing so on May 18. Folau though has conditions in his contract about how he represents his employer.
piru
Roar Rookie
ESPN got ‘woke & went broke’ ESPN did not go broke QANTAS did not go broke Cadbury did not go broke Gillette did not go broke Nike did not go broke Just because it rhymes doesn't mean it's a thing
piru
Roar Rookie
If you had this belief would you just be quiet and let these people go to hell? How would you live with that knowing you could have made a difference? Yep fair enough, so does he believe it's worth losing his job as a highly paid rugby player and ambassador to preach? It would seem so, it was made abundantly clear to him last time that this isn't on
taylorman
Roar Guru
Because as you know we all exist to please you of course. :-)
Redsfan1
Guest
Very true Taylorman.
Loxie
Guest
Why because his personal beliefs don't line up with yours? I also disagree with his & Cheika's view that his best position is at 15, but respect their right to hold and state those views. I personally disagree with Izzy on this but will defend his right to hold them. You are free to disagree, not to de-platform him in the public square of ideas. ESPN got 'woke & went broke' when it confused its audience with people that care for their identity politics, I hope rugby doesn't go down the 'woke & broke' path.
Over here
Roar Rookie
issy is busy trying to save souls, in accordance with the book of guidelines that he has chosen to follow for his lifes journey. the general rugby public and RA has been busy trying to get issy is follow the path to success in rugby. if the public don't want to believe that issys ways to redemption suits them, we, the public, voice our disapproval, as has been happening and we disassociate ourselves from issys ramblings. issy has been given a book of guidelines by RA to follow if he still wants to be associated with Rugby. issy has chosen not to follow them and now should do the honourable thing and disassociate himself from rugby and resign as an employee of RA. of course, as a member of the public, he is still entitled to voice his opinions, but not as an employee of RA as is now the case.