Folau comments on gays not acceptable to NRL
OPINION: NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg says Israel Folau’s comments about gay people going to ‘‘hell unless they repent of their sins’’ would not be acceptable in rugby league.
As NRL clubs circle the Wallabies’ highest-paid player, and Rugby Australia dithers over how to deal with their deeply religious star, Greenberg has weighed into the Folau debate.
He has a strong relationship with Folau and his manager, Isaac Moses, and wants him to return to the code in which he made his mark as a teenage sensation for the Melbourne Storm.
But Greenberg was also strong during last year’s same-sex marriage vote, declaring the NRL’s support of the ‘‘yes’’ vote and prompting other major codes to follow.
Asked if Folau’s comments would be acceptable if he returned to the NRL, Greenberg replied: ‘‘No, it would not. Being inclusive can’t just be a word on a wall. You have to live and breathe it every day. Sometimes you get challenged on that. Inclusiveness also means everyone gets their view.
‘‘But I’d be having the one-on one conversation to talk through how that is being portrayed right now. I don’t agree with Israel’s view, despite having a really strong relationship and affection for him as a person and player.
‘‘All our athletes have to be careful. There are people who will read that and it will be quite damaging to them. There are young boys and girls in cities and regional areas who will read that and find it hard to deal with because Israel has a large profile. That would not have been his intent, but it is very damaging to some people.’’
And this is the very unfortunate problem with Folau’s comments. According to many people who know him, his intention would never have been to hurt anyone. He has gay relatives and friends.
Personally, I wasn’t offended by Folau’s remarks. I’ve heard and received far worse. They will come when this column goes on-line. People are awesome.
Was Folau preaching? Hardly. He was responding to a comment about a reasonably innocuous post about the path of God. Nevertheless, the comment was made to his 339,000 Instagram followers.
Is he entitled to his view? Of course, he is. He can say whatever he wants, as abhorrently bigoted as it might seem to some.
But the naivety of Folau and his supporters who claim he has a right to ‘‘free speech’’ because this is his ‘‘religious belief’’ has been astounding. There is a corporate reality at play here that many have forgotten.
This isn’t sub-districts rugby. This is professional sport and in the case of rugby a sport that needs every disenfranchised supporter it can get following the events of the past year.
Last month, RA launched its #Partofmore campaign, which says everyone is part of the rugby community. Now, it has an asterisk alongside it. Would Folau’s remarks be allowable as ‘‘freedom of speech’’ if he’d said other people were going to hell? Indigenous Australians? Women?
Folau is the code’s highest-paid player, on more than A$1 million a year. He represents more than himself when he wears a gold jumper. That jumper has sponsors splashed across it, like Qantas and ASICS, and without them Folau is not earning A$1 million. Without them, the sport will face-plant.
They don’t have a say? Yes, they do. They pay the bills. And if you look at Folau’s Instagram account you will see there are dozens of posts with him wearing these jumpers, with the logos of these companies prominently displayed.
RA has been disappointingly weak in the past few days with Folau’s delicate contract negotiations obviously a factor. Surely the game is stronger than one player.
NRL clubs are interested in him. Greenberg raised the issue of Folau with club bosses this week and the response was mixed. Some clubs have told me they could not sign Folau given his views on homosexuality. Some players have gay brothers, sisters, parents, friends.
Where will all this go? Probably nowhere.
It will go back and forth and people will write s....y little comments on social media, highlighting their own bigotry or their disproportionate outrage over a s....y little remark from a sportsperson about gays going to a place that probably doesn’t actually exist.
But here’s something Folau could do. He could rise above it all – and talk. Not in a cryptic Instagram post but publicly and frankly. Put it all to bed, for the sake of his own reputation and that of his sport.
Let us know what you’re thinking, Izzy. It’s your right. It’s called freedom of speech.