Dignity in Israel Folau’s respectful silence

Drew Mitchell has had plenty to say about former Wallabies teammate Israel Folau's fundraising efforts. Picture: Steve Pohlner/Hollie Adams

Drew Mitchell is yet to air his frustrations about homelessness, youth suicide, domestic violence, alcoholism, drugs, gambling addiction or any other social issue that may warrant a man’s attention. And yet Israel Folau’s Instagram post and fundraising efforts have him concerned enough to mount a call to arms in an area that requires him to do nothing more than have a whinge.

YOU are in a fight that YOU chose to be in after YOU broke the terms of YOUR contract, the kids below are in a fight they NEVER wanted to be in & yet YOU think YOU deserve donations more than they do??!!

It’s no longer about religion, it’s about YOU and YOUR greed.@IzzyFolau 🤦🏼‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/mdywzaw1ha

— Drew Mitchell (@drew_mitchell) June 21, 2019

Folau’s response? A respectful silence to a former teammate.

Every day of this sorry saga, I admire Folau more and more for trying to lead a deep-and-meaningful existence that goes beyond himself. Mistakes? He’s tweeted a few. But I see a degree of honour in what he is trying to do. And I’ve come to regard the keyboard warriors, exemplified by the former Wallaby Mitchell, as cheap shot merchants who contribute nothing constructive to the debate by joining a social media pile-on that has no repercussions and serves absolutely no purpose. Rather than contacting Folau directly with a man-to-man text or phone call, Mitchell has earned himself a whole lot of Twitter likes — very important, of course — by doing the easiest thing on Earth. By ripping into Folau in 280 characters or less. Hell hath no fury like a Twitterati falling over themselves in the rush to like and retweet anything that spits at Folau and his family. When you target Folau, you know the angry mob are going to support you. And you know that Folau will let it slide, respectful of the fact you used to be teammates. Who’s showing the most strength and dignity there?

If Mitchell has really felt the need to have his say, he’s been more than capable of contacting Folau directly. It’s never going to be no problem for Mitchell to get Folau’s number and air his grievances in a man-to-man text message or phone call. This hasn’t happened. The more self-aggrandising option, a way for Mitchell to beat his own chest as much as anything else, has been to rip into Folau in front of an audience. Which he has done, in between a post asking Matt Giteau about a “hand shandy” for Jonny Wilkinson. If Mitchell thinks Folau’s Christian beliefs make him too judgmental, only a lesser man than Mitchell may have been extraordinarily judgmental in return.

Moitttttt @giteau_rugby !! Are you giving the J-Bear @JonnyWilkinson a hand shandy? https://t.co/QUngknmUxH

— Drew Mitchell (@drew_mitchell) May 7, 2019

Now, to be honest, I nearly hit the like button when I first saw Mitchell’s tweet. Folau’s GoFundMe page had just been launched, and pictures have emerged of gravely ill children also needing financial support on the same website. I initially thought Folau has been out-of-line by putting himself in the same market. I read tweet after tweet about him supposedly taking money off ill children kids when he has millions of dollars in cash and property. There’s been a post about the GoFundMe page for Alex Noble, the teenage rugby player confined to a wheelchair after a training accident, being more worthy of support. I thought and posted myself, hear, hear! But when the noise has died down and I’d given it some more consideration, I’ve come to think otherwise. (It’s been incredibly easy to be swept up in the prevailing anger).

Now? I think surely, upon taking a deep breath, any reasonable person can see that Folau isn’t demanding money. And he’s not asking us to make a choice between himself or Alex Noble or the nine-year-old Jensen fighting cancer and asking for help on GoFundMe. Folau is simply provided a vehicle for anyone who wants to back his case against Rugby Australia. We can still chip in for Noble and the nine-year-old Jensen if we want to. It’s ridiculous for people to have suggested Folau has put himself into competition with those kids. Either you’ve been planning to support someone’s page, or you have not. They are totally and utterly mutually exclusive.

And yet Mitchell has posted a picture of an ill child and written of Folau: “YOU are in a fight that YOU chose to be in after YOU broke the terms of your contract, the kids below are in a fight they NEVER wanted to be in and yet YOU think YOU deserve donations more than they do??!! It’s no longer about religion. It’s about YOU and YOUR greed.”

That’s an extraordinarily bitter and juvenile message from one ex-Wallaby to another. The more I think about it, the more it comes across as complete nonsense. 1. Mitchell says Folau has broken the terms of his contract. I’m guessing Mitchell has not laid eyes on Folau’s contract. 2. Mitchell says the ill and injured children are in a position they have not chosen. Is he implying that Folau thinks differently? 3. Mitchell accuses Folau of believing he deserves money more than those kids. When has Folau said this? 4. Mitchell says the matter is now about Folau’s greed. That’s a big call. A personal call. A nasty call. Made from a distance. Folau’s response? Again, respectful silence.

Mitchell may have succumbed to the sort of knee-jerk reactions that have contributed so heavily to this whole regrettable mess? Not so. He’s danced on Folau’s grave when the GoFundMe page has been abandoned. More than $750,000 was raised in four days from 7,000-plus donors but when the page has been cut, Mitchell has tweeted, “A total of $765k was donated … that amount is set to be refunded to all those who donated .. wouldn’t it be amazing if everyone re-donated their pledges towards other peoples (sic) pages who are in a fight for their life?”

A total of $765k was donated to @IzzyFolau’s @gofundme page..

That amount is set to be refunded to all those who donated.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if everyone decided to re-donate their pledges towards other peoples pages who are in a fight of their life?!

— Drew Mitchell (@drew_mitchell) June 24, 2019

Yes, that would be amazing. It would amazing because it would be a great and selfless thing to do. It would also be amazing because those initial donations were given to a specific person for a specific purpose. Why does Mitchell think he can tell people where to direct their money? Has he given any of his own salary to those sick kids? When a replacement fundraising page for Folau has been set up by the Australian Christian Lobby, the figure has moved past $600,000 in its first 24 hours — before the GoFundMe refunds have even been delivered. Which has incensed the angry mob all over again. Banished by Rugby Australia, banished by the Wallabies, banished by current and former teammates and then banished by GoFundMe, even more support has been galvanised.

It’s not necessarily support for what he’s said and how he’s said it, not at all, but support from those who have a sensible and rational understanding of where he’s coming from. From day one, I’ve detected no hate from Folau. Absolutely none. It’s too lazy and easy to reduce the issue to that. The only scorn I have sensed is typified by Mitchell’s attitude towards someone he’s shared an Australian jumper with. He may like to practice what he preaches. Another of Mitchell’s tweets finishes with, “Be kind to one another.” What, just don’t be kind to Folau or anyone who supports him?

From a former teammate, a former wallaby but most importantly a current member of society, these are a few of my thoughts on the latest events instigated by @IzzyFolau & his social media posts..

Be kind to one another ❤️https://t.co/KWXmPPveUN

— Drew Mitchell (@drew_mitchell) April 12, 2019