Susie O’Brien: You picked the fight, Israel, so you pay for it
The idea that others should pay for Israel Folau’s legal defence is absurd and GoFundMe was right to close it down, writes Susie O’Brien.
Susie O'Brien
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Sacked rugby player Israel Folau’s legal fighting fund was promoting hate speech, not free speech. That is why GoFundMe had no option but to pull it from their crowdsourcing platform.
The appeal by Folau was a shameless cash grab that deserved to be shut down.
It wasn’t about protecting his religious freedom, but lining the pockets of a player who’s earned between $1 million and $2 million a season since 2015.
If Folau succeeds in suing Rugby Australia, he could get up to $10 million in damages, so why can’t he fund his own defence like everyone else?
Why not sell one of his six homes and three blocks of land worth an estimated $7 million?
Folau’s wife, Maria, recently posted on her Instagram that “the poorest person is not one without money, it is one without God”. But she and her husband are happy to exploit those much poorer than themselves to secure their own riches.
Folau says he has already spent $100,000 of his own money “fighting for what is right”, but that is a tiny proportion of what he’s earned as a professional sportsman.
So why should ordinary people put their hands in their pockets to defend his lawful sacking?
It’s arrogant of Folau to say he’s in the “fight of my life” when funds like GoFundMe are most often used for the families of sick children with life-threatening illnesses to raise money for their medical bills.
Making matters worse, there was no compulsion on Folau to spend the money on his legal fees at all.
A disclaimer on at the end of his plea for funds noted that there will be “no obligations on Israel Folau to do anything for me in recognition of the gift or to apply the funds in any particular way with respect to his legal action and that I hold no expectation to receive anything in return for my contribution”.
GoFundMe was right to pull his brazen appeal for funds because it’s a clear breach of their rules which states users must not raise money for the legal defence of intolerance relating to sexual orientation, among other things.
Luckily, the 9800 donors who pledged Folau $760,000 will get their money back. It seems like a lot of support, but it’s a small proportion of the 95,000 people who signed a competing change.org petition to get the Folau cash grab taken down.
Let’s not forget that Folau picked this fight himself after he posted that “hell awaits” gay people if they don’t repent, as well as fornicators, thieves and drunks. That was after a similar earlier post which led to a warning from Rugby Australia.
Folau even admitted Rugby Australia head Raelene Castle told him he was “able to share my religious beliefs but just do it in a more respectful way”.
Folau is not “standing up for the word of God”, as he told radio host Alan Jones. He’s standing up for bigotry and hate. The irony is that if he’d quoted directly from the Bible, it’s likely he couldn’t have been sacked, but his “Hell Awaits …” Instagram post isn’t a biblical passage.
I would also like to see Netball Australia take a stronger stand in relation to Maria Folau, who has posted the plea for funds on her Instagram site. In doing so, she risks violating Netball
Australia’s social media and inclusion policies. Netball Australia said they want an “inclusive environment”. Yet their recent press released raved about Maria Folau’s work with fans, local clinics and the netballing community and ignored her endorsement of homophobia. Doing nothing about her post is an endorsement of her views.
At this stage the religious lobby is in a frenzy to make Israel Folau the poster boy for free speech and freedom from religious discrimination. They’re missing the point. No one is asking Folau to hide his faith, or not to believe in whatever religious deity he wants. But we do expect him not to persecute, humiliate and harass others who don’t hold the same views.
As I’ve written before, the right to religious freedom has to be balanced against the right of others not to be offended or vilify others. Saying homosexuals will go to hell unless they repent is inciting vilification and hatred on the basis of sexual orientation. Folau’s freedom of speech should not trump someone else’s right to love whoever they want.
Comments like those made by Folau, along with his greedy plea for cash, contribute to a culture of disrespect and intolerance for people who are gay.
LGBTI people — especially those who are rugby players and fans — should not have to pay the price for Folau’s recent conversion to hard-line religious views.
And none of us should have to pay for his legal defence given that he can well afford to put his hand in his own pocket.
Susie O’Brien is a Herald Sun columnist.
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