Netball says no action required against Maria Folau for re-posting Israel Folau’s GoFundMe details
Australian netball queen Liz Ellis has taken aim at Netball Australia and the Super Netball league for its ‘no action required’ stance on Maria Folau after she re-posted husband Israel Folau’s GoFundMe details on social media.
Netball Australia and the Super Netball league says no action is required by them against Maria Folau after she re-posted husband Israel Folau’s GoFundMe details on social media.
Israel Folau has set up a GoFundMe page asking people to foot the bill for his court case, in which Folau is seeking $10 million from RA for tearing up his $5 million contract,and lost future earnings.
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His wife Maria is a New Zealand international and currently a member of the Adelaide Thunderbirds team competing in the Australian Super Netball competition.
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Just minutes before Folau was due to take the court against the NSW Swifts in Adelaide, Netball Australia and Super Netball released a join statement.
“Netball Australia and Suncorp Super Netball is committed to providing welcoming, inclusive and supportive places for all people to play and watch our great game,’’ the statement read.
“We are aware that Adelaide Thunderbirds’ athlete Maria Folau re-posted her husband’s GoFundMe page details via social media. There is no action required by the league.
“We will continue to support Maria as a valued member of the Thunderbirds and the Suncorp Super Netball league.’’
But Australian netball legend Liz Ellis took to Twitter to slam the stance by the league.
Netball South Australia CEO Bronwyn Klei also spoke about the issue on Sunday. .
“First and foremost, I want to be very clear that Netball South Australia is fiercely determined to provide an inclusive environment that allows anyone to participate in the great game of netball regardless of gender, religious belief, age, race or sexual orientation,” Klei’s statement said.
“We also believe in fairness and perspective.
“Like millions of other people across Australia, Maria Folau uses her personal social media platform to share her life and beliefs with her family, friends and fans. This week, she shared her husband’s controversial GoFundMe post.
“While Netball SA in no way endorses the reposting, we do not believe Maria has contravened our social media policy.”
Folau on Sunday was able to put the drama surrounding her husband off the court behind her as she played a starring role for the Thunderbirds in their round nine Super Netball game.
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