Comment: Selfish Folau’s outdated attitude cost him his contract

Rugby boss Raelene Castle said the Israel Folau case could change the sporting world ... but it won’t. Why? Because the sporting world has changed already, writes Robert Craddock.

Rugby boss Raelene Castle said the Israel Folau case could change the sporting world ... but it won’t.

Why? Because the sporting world has changed already.

And that, essentially was Folau’s problem ... he didn’t change with it.

Israel Folau runs onto the ground under a rainbow. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

No-one was asking Folau to change his fundamental Christian beliefs but simply to respect that in a global sporting world in which tolerance is now an essential commodity he at least had to adhere to the contract he signed to respect one and all.

No sporting body in the world will look at the Folau case and think “wow, we better put protocols in place to stop the derision of gay people’’ because it’s happened already. Naturally.

In society. In sport. Everywhere.

Folau had to go. For rugby, for his teammates, and, strange to say it, even for his own best interests.

When Castle started to refer to him as Mr Folau midway through her press conference it was almost as if Folau and rugby had never met each other and that might have been the best option because this decision could destroy both of them.

Much has been made of many of Folau’s fellow Christian rugby players showing support for him but not enough has been said about the other players who found his words highly offensive.

David Pocock delayed his own marriage until gay marriage was legalised. Picture: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

How could he ever have taken the field again with the likes of David Pocock who delayed his own marriage to Emma until gay marriage was legalised in Australia?

Then there was the likes of Will Genia, normally so reserved in his public comments, who just cut through the rhetoric to call Folau “selfish’’ and his views “totally wrong.’

“I firmly believe what he did was wrong and how he messaged it, put it out there was wrong,” Genia said.

“You can’t be out there spreading hate and telling people that they’re going to go to hell.

“You can have your beliefs and have faith in what you want to have faith in, but you can’t go around trying to tell people they should be going to hell because they are a certain way. For me, that’s completely wrong.”

These are the strongest sentences of Genia’s career and you can bet they came after immense deliberation.

Will Genia (left) was unimpressed with Israel Folau’s comments. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

If he is saying them in public, rest assured he would feel even stronger in private.

Selfish is the key word.

Folau’s decision to ring fellow Christian players around Australia asking for support put them in a compromised and vulnerable position, particularly with a World Cup looming.

Even if you put the religious part of this debate to once side, the Folau issue displays an alarming tendency of a player to put his interests ahead of the team.

The whole thing is sad and even those of us who think Folau had to go can see the other side of the argument.

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At face value it seems strange that Folau can be axed for quoting the bible yet the likes of James Slipper and Karmichael Hunt power on after drug issues.

Folau has also been banned from rugby league which tolerates all sorts of whacky dudes yet allegedly not some cleanskin who quotes the bible?

It sounds odd until we dig deeper to statistics that revealing that youth suicides among gay teenagers is four times higher than the straight population. The damage of Folau’s stance should not be underestimated.

I have some sympathy for Folau but I’ve had much more for players who momentarily lost their cool on off the field and ruined their careers with an instantaneous brain snap which they regretted for life.

Israel Folau has made no apology for his post. Picture: Gregg Porteous

There is no suggestion of a brain snap here.

When Folau posted his controversial stance on Instagram in the first week in April he knew precisely what he was doing, coming as it did after an official warning and marathon discussions in contract time.

He has no regrets and has never apologised and never will. The post is still up there. That’s fine. He can believe in whatever he likes.

But there was not way he deserves to pocket $4 million from rugby while contradicting everything they stand for.

In a very complex debate, that is the simple truth.