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Why Israel Folau refused chance to save career
Controversial Wallabies and Waratahs star Israel Folau spurned the chance to save his $4 million contract with Rugby Australia during his code of conduct hearing in Sydney over the last week.
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Folau, who is under fire for condemning all gays to “hell” unless they repent for their “sins”, has instead reached out to fellow rugby players, particularly those of Pasifika heritage, in search of support for both him and his religious views.
The 30-year-old was told that if he took down his divisive Instagram post, which also claimed that ‘drunks, idolators and adulterers’ and others would join homosexuals in “hell”, it would be viewed as remorseful, according to The Daily Telegraph.
It is believed such an admission of his remorse would have reduced his code of conduct breach to a low or mid-range breach.
However, Folau has been issued with a high-level breach, which is serious enough for Rugby Australia to warrant a termination of his contract, while the post remains on his Instagram account, which has 354,000 followers.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwEWt2uHcLI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Throughout the three-day hearing, Folau was given multiple opportunities to state that he would prevent future comments that targeted the gay community, but he insisted that he would ‘not change’ and would continue to share his religious beliefs on social media.
As a result, he has asked players from the Australian Super Rugby franchises and the Japan-based Sunwolves to stand by him and his views.
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Some players have come out both in support and against Folau’s sentiments since he published the post in April.
Australian-born English No. 8 Billy Vunipola found himself in hot water with England and club side Saracens for liking Folau’s post.
Wallabies and Reds prop Taniela Tupou shared a post on Facebook showing his support for Super Rugby and international teammate Samu Kerevi, who felt obliged to apologise after quoting the bible and thanking Jesus in an Instagram post of his own.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwZIi7Flzk-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
In the now-deleted post, Tupou said that Rugby Australia “might as well sack me and all the other Pacific Islands rugby players around the world because we have the same Christian beliefs. I will never apologise for my faith and what I believe in, religion had [sic] got nothing to do with rugby anyways #TYJ”.
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Elsewhere, many players and significant figures within the rugby fraternity have condemned Folau’s sentiments, with players and ex-players such as Gareth Thomas, James Haskell, Joe Marler, TJ Perenara, Brad Weber, Nehe Milner-Skudder and, more recently, Clyde Rathbone all taking aim at the 73-test star.
Following his guilty verdict, the best punishment Folau can now hope for is a suspension and/or a fine.
If he is to be sacked, however, he will be the first Australian athlete to be dismissed for his religious beliefs.
Should that be the case, he would not receive a payout after he declined a $1 million settlement agreement with Rugby Australia to walk away from his contract.
Both Folau and Rugby Australia will give written submissions to the panel before the sanction is handed down, while Folau also has 72 hours to lodge an appeal, a matter of which would be heard by an all-new panel.
The current panel’s decision of finding Folau guilty of a high-level breach may not be finalised for several days, with no timeline established on when that will occur.
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