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By Caleb Stephen
Embroiled in a firestorm of controversy, the heavily built Tongan isn’t backing down any time soon.
The embattled athlete had an extraordinarily successful professional sporting career. He has played across three codes: Rugby Union, Rugby League and AFL. Folau is Super Rugby’s highest Australian all-time try scorer.
Some background
What follows is a brief breakdown of the events that led to Israel Folau being sacked for expressing Christian views.
On April 10 in an Instagram post, Folau warned a number of classes of sinners, including homosexuals, that if they did not repent, would end up in hell.
Folau in a church sermon also expressed concern about children “transitioning” gender.
“In today’s youths and everything, they are allowing young kids in primary school to be able to have the permission to change their gender if they want by taking away the permission of the parents,” Folau said.
“Now they are trying to take control as a government to make those decisions for young kids who are basically 16 years old or young, they don’t even know what they are doing.”
Folau has also spoken out against same-sex ‘marriage’.
“They say that a man and a man should be able to be married and there is nothing wrong with it,” he said.
“This buys into the theme of pleasing man rather than pleasing God and standing up for the truth.”
In May, Rugby Australia terminated Folau’s four year, $4 million contract for his comments on Instagram claiming that they were undermining “inclusivity.”
Folau has since launched legal action which, if successful, could bankrupt Rugby Australia.
This is not the first time Folau has been targeted for refusing to support the LGBTI status quo.
Last year the media roasted Folau over a response to a question on social media asking: “what was gods [sic] plan for gay people??”.
Folau responded: “HELL.. Unless they repent of their sins and turn to God”.
In response to the post and the resulting heated controversy, Folau wrote a PlayersVoice piece saying he would not compromise his faith in Jesus Christ, citing it as “the cornerstone of every single thing in my life.”
In mid June, Folau setup a GoFundMe campaign asking people to donate to fight Rugby Australia, following the termination of his contract.
After a "period of evaluation", the site claimed Folau's campaign “violated” its terms of service citing its lack of toleration for the promotion of discrimination or exclusion.
Ironically, the prominent fundraising platform failed to justify its conspicuous discrimination of Folau due to his Christian beliefs.
GoFundMe’s termination of Folau’s fundraising campaign backfired. The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) subsequently set up its own fundraiser and reported donations had been “overwhelming” - reaching over $2 million in 48 hours.
The campaign was so successful that ACL froze donations to the heavily trafficked site due to reaching the fundraising target.
Folau wrote on the ACL website: “I have had the honour and the privilege of representing my country on the sporting field, for which I will be forever grateful.
“I am also a Christian. My faith is the most important thing in my life. I try to live my life according to the Bible and I believe it is my duty to share the word of the Bible.”
What’s happening now?
Folau’s controversial termination dispute with Rugby Australia appears headed for a showdown in the Federal Court after a failed mediation attempt between the two parties at the Fair Work Commission in June.
Folau’s lawyer George Haros, said: “We are disappointed that we were unable to reach a settlement with Rugby Australia and the NSW Waratahs through the Fair Work Commission, despite numerous good-faith discussions. We are now considering our options, which includes the possibility of court action.”
If Folau wins, it will set a precedent that would protect employees’ rights to express their beliefs publicly and lead to a narrowing of employment contracts clauses and also codes of conduct.
Interestingly, the Wallabies lost to the Springboks 35-17 in the Rugby Championship opener in Johannesburg, Saturday - Australia's first test match without Folau.
Ahead of the match days earlier, Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus told media that the Wallabies would be “less of a threat aerially without him [Folau].”
“I don’t know how influential he was as a leader but certainly I think we have a better chance in the aerial department. He is a great striker and finishes tries. He was the top-try scorer [in Super Rugby]. He is an influential player,” Erasmus said.
“There is no doubt they will miss Folau because he is a world-class player but they interchange positions no matter the number on their back.”
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