Castle has ‘good meeting’ with Folau
Israel Folau has given no firm commitment to Rugby Australia that he will be silenced on social media as the game’s chief executive Raelene Castle said a positive conversation had taken place between both parties.
The Wallabies and Waratahs star was not sighted yesterday outside RA headquarters, but was there for a meeting with his manager Isaac Moses, Castle and New South Wales Rugby Union boss Andrew Hore.
Castle said Folau would go away to think about his remark, in which he wrote on Instagram that God’s plan for gay people was to go to ‘‘HELL’’.
‘‘What we had was a really good meeting,’’ Castle said.
‘‘It was very open, it was very calm and it was very honest.
‘‘This is not a simple issue. This is a difficult issue when you’re trying to combine religious beliefs, freedom of speech, inclusion, respect and the use of social media.
‘‘Israel’s gone away to think about that. For him he’s proud of what he is and what he stands for. He wants to make sure that we are not asking him to compromise those beliefs but at the same time we explained to him this is challenging for us.’’
AAP reported that Castle said Folau has admitted he could have conveyed his religious views on gay people in a more positive matter.