Rugby player Israel Folau has given his first TV interview since the controversy surrounding his social media posts began.
Folau appeared on the Sky News program Jones & Co where he was interviewed by Alan Jones and Peta Credlin. Both interviewers have previously publicly voiced their support for Folau and his campaign.
Discussing his interaction with Rugby Australia, Folau said he felt his employer had “backed him into a corner” where he had no choice but to stand up for his beliefs.
Folau said the organisation had offered him money to take down his controversial social media posts where he paraphrased a section of the Bible declarding the homosexuals, fornicators, liars, adulterers and others would go to hell unless they repented and followed God.
The claim was immediately rejected by Rugby Australia who said the player’s statement was completely false.
“Following comments made on Alan Jones’ television show tonight, any suggestion that Rugby Australia offered Israel Folau money to remove a post made on April 10, 2019, is completely untrue,” Rugby Australia responded.
With the two parties due to meet tomorrow at Fair Work Australia, Folau said he was hoping that Rugby Australia would be issuing a full apology for their decision to terminate his contract.
Folau said nothing was more important to him than his faith.
“It’s the most important thing to me, my identity is found in what is written in that book and it’s all I am, and how I conduct myself each and every day.”
Folau said he had a Christian duty to share the message in the Bible and could understand that some people found his message upsetting, but insisted his statement that homosexuals and others were headed to hell came from “a place of love”.
“It’s nothing personal, just wanting to share that message of love that God is really trying to extend that to all people.”
Asked how he’d respond to people who found his message hurtful, Folau said he could see both sides of the argument, before comparing homosexuality to drug addiction.
“If I had a child that was a drug addict, I’d certainly still love my child without anything attached to that. It’s something where I’m trying to share love, and that the way I look at in terms of sharing the Bible and the passages with my fellow man each day.” Folau said.
Throughout the interview Folau said he was “convicted by his faith” and this had not allowed him to meet any of the requests from his employer to delete his social media posts.
Folau said he couldn’t understand why some of the players on the team had said they would not be able to play alongside him in the future, or why they have been critical of him in the media. The player said there was no clause in employment contract that prevented him from making statements about his religious beliefs.
Earlier in the day Rugby Australia said they had terminated Folau’s contract after a strict process was followed.
“Rugby Australia has acted with complete professionalism and integrity at all times through the process by which Israel was found, by an independent three-member tribunal panel, to have made multiple, serious breaches of the Professional Players Code of Conduct,” CEO Raelene Castle said in a statement.
“The panel found the breaches constituted a high level and directed Rugby Australia to terminate Israel’s contract.”
OIP Staff
