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Wallaby star Israel Folau’s latest Tweet, which he posted late last night Australian time, suggests he’s sticking to his guns over last week’s controversial social media comment which showed his apparent disapproval of homosexuality.
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Last week the Waratahs back – a devout Christian – was heavily criticised for suggesting that gay people would be sent to ‘HELL’ unless they ‘repent’.
The 29-year-old deleted the comment, but was ordered to meet Rugby Australia chief executive Raelene Castle and New South Wales Rugby CEO Andrew Hore.
Castle said in a statement: “Israel’s comment reflects his personal religious beliefs, however it does not represent the view of Rugby Australia or NSW Rugby.
“We are aligned in our view that rugby is a game for all, regardless of sexuality, race, religion or gender, which is clearly articulated in Rugby’s inclusion policy.
“We understand that Israel’s comment has upset a number of people and we will discuss the matter with him as soon as possible.”
His latest Tweet is an image with Christian scripture, with two paragraphs highlighted in yellow.
It reads: “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner. of evil against you falsely, for my sake.”
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“Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven.”
??? #allglorytoGod pic.twitter.com/6XwkEV6GrH
— Israel Folau (@IzzyFolau) April 8, 2018
Rugby Australia’s major sponsor has voiced their disapproval of Folau’s stance on gays.
Qantas is a vocal supporter of same-sex marriage in Australia and the major sponsor of the Wallabies. A spokesperson told foxsports.com.au that “as a sponsor of Rugby Australia, we’re supportive of their approach towards tolerance and inclusion, which aligns with our own. “We’ve made it clear to Rugby Australia that we find the comments very disappointing.”
Rugby Australia responded on Thursday that “Folau’s personal beliefs do not reflect the views of Rugby Australia”.
“Rugby supports all forms of inclusion, whether its sexuality, race, or gender, which is set out in our Inclusion Policy (2014),” Rugby Australia said in a statement.
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Former Wallaby Brendan Cannon also questioned Folau’s views given the state of the issue Australia.
“It’s almost an ignorant perspective because we had a very expensive referendum recently in relation to marriage equality in Australia,” he told Fox Sports Australia.
“Izzy now clearly puts himself in the minority of that group, but you’ve got to rate the fact that it’s his opinion and he backs it.
“But I question how he would be if it was his brother or sister or someone within his family that was a homosexual.”
