Folau saga raises questions on value of sponsorship

Recent events show it’s time to outlaw corporate sponsorship of sport. With little regard for sport or its players, corporates have bullied Israel Folau and his wife Maria to protect their brand. Their “brand” is all that seems to count.

Sport must be returned to its grassroots, where it survives on gate takings and broadcast income. If there was no corporate sponsorship, player salaries would return to sensible levels, and club CEOs and coaches could get on with the game rather than live under the corporate pressure of win at all costs.

It is demeaning to coaches to have to conduct post-match interviews surrounded by corporate paraphernalia. The influence of corporate sponsors on sport is way out of hand.

Robert Burnett, Woombye, Qld

Peter van Onselen outlines various double standards shared by extremists on both sides of the Folau furore (“We’re living in a robust democracy, so suck it up, zealots”, 29/6). Another is that, in John Howard’s day, conservatives claimed the Left demanded rights while ignoring responsibilities. Nowadays, conservatives insist on rights while the Left tries to enforce responsibility. The Folau affair is divisive because it involves a complex mesh of ethical questions. It’s not solely about freedom of speech or religion, nor corporate and communal responsibility not to offend.

Francis Bacon remarked of Elizabeth I that she would not make windows into men’s souls. If your soul has windows, though, there’s a duty to keep them curtained, so passers-by aren’t forced to watch what’s going on indoors. Activists across the spectrum seem increasingly to be installing snipers at the windows.

Patrick Ball, Fern Tree, Tas

Thank you, Peter van Onselen, for an article that didn’t need the denigrating adjectives so frequently used by right-wing commentators. It was a relief to read an article on the Israel Folau issue that showed balance and common sense rather that the polemic often used to beat up issues.

Roger Bridgland, West Hobart, Tas

As Brendan O’Neill highlights (“No forgiveness for Folau’s sins against the PC church”, 29/6), there is a new phase in the Israel Folau uproar that can only be described as a concerted campaign of hatred and persecution against him.

This is evident not only in the vitriol spewed forth in some of the more sewer-like social media cesspits, but also in the determined vendetta by some corporates to shut down any support whatsoever for Folau.

Whether it is denying his right to publicly express his religious beliefs, punishing him with termination of his employment when he does so, or denying him the right to seek fundraising to pursue legal action over wrongful dismissal, these vigilantes of righteousness are in there fighting the good fight. Oh yes, there’s hate, intolerance, persecution and baying for blood, but it’s not coming from Folau.

Susan Caughey, Glen Iris, Vic

Who would have guessed that articles in Inquirer by a convinced Christian (“Errors of judgment”, 29/6) and atheist Brendan O’Neill should have just the same basic characteristic: they both missed the whole point of the Israel Folau controversy.

Greg Sheridan was so preoccupied with defending Christianity and O’Neill with attacking political correctness that they both lost sight of the real issue: Folau was sacked for, according to Rugby Australia, breach of contract, not his religious beliefs. The courts will determine whether a breach of contract occurred and was serious enough to incur cancellation.

Such thinking does not help the credibility of Christianity or atheism; debates involving religion usually end in stalemate, so perhaps it’s too much to expect anything different.

David Barker, Bunbury, WA

Israel Folau detractors fail to understand why such a large number of Australians object to the intimidation and bullying of Folau and his wife Maria. It is about the principle, not the person. Most quiet Australians do not support Folau’s religious viewpoint. But they fear that if they express an opinion contrary to the orthodoxy of the Left they will be berated and vilified for their stance.

Can you imagine an employee of Qantas, HCF or Rugby Australia telling colleagues over the water cooler that they believe in Folau’s right to free speech? Their career prospects would be decimated.

Riley Brown, Bondi Beach, NSW