Israel Folau and Rugby Australia paying an enormous price for standing by their convictions
From the moment Israel Folau sent his infamous Instagram post on April 10, Rugby Australia’s legal bills have now surpassed $300,000. But the cost for both sides is more than financial.
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The cost of religious freedom?
That will always be up for debate.
But from the moment Israel Folau sent his infamous Instagram post from New Zealand on April 10, Rugby Australia’s legal bills have now surpassed $300,000.
And it won’t stop.
When the three-personal panel hands down its decision on Folau’s future early next week, only the first stage of this saga will be finished.
If Folau’s contract is terminated, his legal team – earning an estimated $25,000 a week for their work – is expected to file an appeal.
Rugby is already on its knees. They’ve forecast a financial loss of $8 million next year.
The Folau case is churning through cash they can barely afford.
And while the panel’s initial decision that Folau has breached the code of conduct at the high level has supported RA’s actions, their process in his contracting, actions after his post and arguments in the hearing leave several positions under fire within RA and RUPA, the players’ union.
However, the cost of doing nothing would have been greater still.
Not acting against Folau would have seen key sponsors withdraw, leaving the game broke.
Not to mention potential legal action from RA’s own gay employees – some who represent the women’s national teams – for failing to protect them from vilification within their workforce.
RA has one key fact on their side: Folau has shown no remorse for his actions.
The 30-year-old star is so convinced his religious post — saying homosexuals and other sinners are destined for hell — is not vilification but simply repeating scripture he believes in, and therefore he will never back down.
He believes to do so would betray the God he worships and the Bible verses that now define his very existence.
But the panel, having already found Folau guilty of breaching the game’s code of conduct, must now decide whether they terminate his $4 million deal or issue him with a fine or suspension.
Given Folau will not give any guarantees he won’t post further inflammatory material on social media that could embroil rugby in a third such scandal, termination looms large.
It was in April last year that Folau first wrote on Instagram that gays were going to hell unless they repented.
That statement appalled many in and out of the game, and led to lengthy conversations before it was decided Folau would not be sanctioned.
Rugby could hardly claim to be about inclusivity if it was including the opinions of the gay community and their supporters but excluding the Christian community, of which much of their playing base is.
It is important to note that not all Christians, and Christian players in the Wallabies, agree with Folau’s views regarding homosexuals.
Flanker David Pocock is also a devout Christian, but also one of the most outspoken for gay rights.
Folau’s second post has made it a far graver situation and aside from players expressing public frustration that he has again distracted from the rugby season, few want to wade into the religious freedom versus vilification debate.
Going back to last year, Folau left his teammates to do all the public talk on his behalf, and they defended him stoutly.
At the time he wrote a column saying if his values did not align with those of the game, he would walk away.
Clearly, he has not done so.
He still disputes that he was warned specifically about what he could and could not post.
And given he’ll not back down in his views or from posting material that could cause more outrage, he is well aware that his career prospects are grim.
Having turned down a settlement offer of $1 million prior to the code of conduct hearing, Folau wants big cash to walk.
Again, back to last year, aside from his column, Folau did not speak publicly for six months.
When he did, it was outside a factory in Tokyo where they manufacture sportswear for the brand ASICS, which this week cut him as an ambassador for his posts.
Last October, during his press conference, Folau made a remarkable admission about the turbulent fallout to his initial anti-gay comment.
“It might sound a bit crazy, I kind of really enjoyed what was happening off the field,” Folau said.
“And I truly believe that from deep down inside, what was happening off the field, even though it was challenging and it was hard, it was actually moulding me into the person in becoming stronger and actually taught me a lot of things that I needed to learn, and I’m still learning now.”
What he clearly did not learn is what was outlined to him by RA chief executive Raelene Castle, Waratahs boss Andrew Hore and Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, who believe they made it crystal clear he could continue posting religious material, but nothing that would vilify homosexuals.
Since then, Folau’s Instagram page has overwhelmingly been filled with religious memes. Most warn of the end of times, attack Christians who attend church on Sundays but sin the rest of the week, and denounce greedy pastors who continually ask parishioners for money.
Folau’s mindset is quite transparent — he is convinced the end of days are near and wants to warn people of this so they can be saved.
His convictions have made him a leader within the Wallabies’ Christian player base.
Through last year’s trying Test season, when Australia lost nine of 13 Tests, heaping enormous pressure on coach Cheika, cracks began to emerge in the team.
In training camps, on tours, natural cliques formed. The large group of Pacific Island players, who are Christians, would mostly socialise among themselves, as did many who are not religious.
In September, Fijian-born Wallabies winger Sefanaia Naivalu missed a team bus to the airport in South Africa.
Cheika, losing games and eager to enforce discipline, decided to send him home as punishment.
So when, in November, Adam Ashley-Cooper and Kurtley Beale brought three women back to their Cardiff hotel room after a match, there was accusations of double standards from the Pacific Island members of the team.
Folau was a key voice in this standoff, and captain Michael Hooper agreed that the breach of an internal team rule could not go unpunished.
Cheika eventually made the call to drop the pair for the crucial final Test of the year, which they lost comprehensively to England.
Now in a World Cup year, Cheika needs unity more than ever.
He was a driving force in re-signing Folau for a further four years.
But after Folau’s post last month, Cheika said he could not see how he could pick him for the World Cup.
Days before, RA had announced their intention to sack Folau without having spoken to him – he’d refused to answer their calls.
The Wallabies’ major sponsor Qantas, headed by one of Australia’s most high-profile gay men, Alan Joyce, this week praised RA’s actions against Folau.
RA has taken a moral stand to be inclusive. They supported the “Yes” campaign for marriage equality in the 2017 referendum, when Folau said he would vote “No”.
Both have stood firm and are paying an enormous price.
Folau will potentially lose his lucrative sporting career.
RA will lose eye-watering money, and probably sponsors and jobs when all is done, while there will be no appeasing those on the side of religious freedom on this debate.
Rugby’s landmark case will be a precedent for all other sports who deal with this in future.
But the tariff means there will be no winners.
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