Netball sponsor HCF: we don’t support Maria Folau’s stance

Another sponsor raises concerns over Maria Folau’s support for her husband as Liz Ellis retreats.

Maria and Israel Folau. Picture: Twitter.

Another netball sponsor has expressed its concern over Maria Folau’s support of her husband Israel.

Health Insurance company HCF, sponsor of Maria’s team the Adelaide Thunderbirds, has reportedly told Netball Australia: “We do not support Maria Folau’s stance.”

The company said it had expressed the need for “a strong, clear and well enforced social media policy and education amongst its players and staff” after Maria reposted her husband’s appeal for donations in his legal battle with Rugby Australia.

“We appreciate the complexities of the Folau matter and acknowledge that views do differ in the community, however, we do not support Maria Folau’s stance on this matter,” an HCF spokesman said, according to Nine Media.

“There is no place in our society for discrimination of any kind, including on the basis of gender, religious belief, age, race or sexual orientation.”

MORE: Australian Christian Lobby says leaders they “cannot wash their hands’’ of Israel Folau’s case “like Pontius Pilate” | Neil Bach writes: Folau’s treatment differs greatly from our cricket cheats | Janet Albrechtsen writes: Israel Folau’s treatment is a solid-gold lesson in how to create a martyr | Graham Richardson writes: If Folau has lived a perfect life then he should be in the running to make sainthood | Folau statement: I am humbled by the support

HCF is the second corporate sponsor to make a stand against the action by the former Silver Ferns Vice-Captain, which has been internationally condemned.

This morning the ANZ Bank, which sponsors both the Silver Ferns and New Zealand’s netball league, denied pressuring Netball NZ over Maria’s stance. Yesterday ANZ said it does not support Maria’s views and had contacted Netball NZ over the issue, but today the company said in a statement: “We value our partnership with Netball NZ and any suggestion we have tried to pressure them is absolutely incorrect.”

A third sponsor, Suncorp, avoided commenting on the Folau stance but stressed to The Australian that it supported “diversity and inclusion.”

“Suncorp’s sponsorship of the Super Netball League is focused on building a nation of confident girls and championing the importance of participation in sport across Australia. Suncorp Group proudly supports diversity and inclusion of our people and customers,” said a spokesman.

Meanwhile, former champion netballer Liz Ellis retreated from a Twitter attack on Maria in which she suggested the Adelaide Thunderbirds star wasn’t welcome in the sport over her support for husband.

Writing in Nine’s Sydney Morning Herald, Ellis insists her “beef” was not with “mesmerising” netballer Maria, but with the game’s bosses who refused swiftly to condemn homophobia.

Netball Australia and South Australia threw their support behind the athlete saying no action was required as she was not in contravention of their social media policy.

In response, Ellis tweeted: “Yeah nah not good enough … There is no room for homophobia in our game. Anyone who is seen to support or endorse homophobia is not welcome.”

Yeah nah not good enough.
How about this:
There is no room for homophobia in our game. Anyone who is seen to support or endorse homophobia is not welcome. As much as I love watching ⁦@MariaFolau⁩ play netball I do not want my sport endorsing the views of her husband. pic.twitter.com/IR5jecVm6O

— Liz Ellis (@LizzyLegsEllis) June 23, 2019

The post caused its own storm with over 1500 comments and writing today, an apologetic Ellis concedes: “Firstly, my beef was not with Maria Folau. Of course she is welcome to play in Super Netball. She is one of the most mesmerising, enigmatic and skilful goal attacks ever to play our game … Just because Maria is married to a man who publicly states things that cause huge controversy, and that many people (myself included) find abhorrent, doesn’t mean that she has to answer for him.

“Until, of course, she re-posted something that is clearly related to those views.”

Ellis, who retired in 2007, goes on to stress her “real beef” is that Netball Australia and the Adelaide Thunderbirds should have moved more quickly and been stronger in their condemnation of homophobia.

“They could have given Maria her slap on the wrist, but combined it with something so much stronger. To say without equivocation, without weasel words, that homophobia is not welcome in our sport. To me, it was a lost opportunity to say to LGBTQI players, both in the league and in the suburbs, that they are welcome, they are wanted and they are supported.”

Earlier the Australian Christian Lobby, which has taken up fundraising for Folau after he was banned from GoFundMe, slammed the ANZ’s response. The ACL, which has raised over $1.6m in just over 24 hours, suggested the company’s stance was hypocritical.

ACL managing director Martin Iles this morning told Today: “They have condemned her for sharing a post by her husband and putting her employer, the New Zealand national netball team, on notice as well.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all. This is precisely the reason why people are supporting Israel Folau.

“They see time and time again, whether it is ANZ Bank targeting his wife, whether it is people targeting GoFundMe with complaints, whether it is Israel being targeted with lies being able to persist in the media about him, whether it is him losing his job, it is all under this language of inclusion, but not so inclusive they can include somebody with beliefs they disagree with.

“People hear this every day in their workplaces, every day in conversations that they have. They hear it and think that means shut up and that pinch of political correctness is very, very real. I think that is why there is such energy behind this.”

In separate statements yesterday Netball SA and Netball Australia said while they did not endorse Maria’s reposting, they would continue to support her “as a valued member of the Thunderbirds and the Suncorp Super Netball league.”

Silver Ferns head coach Noeline Taurua also threw her support behind her star shooter, insisting the player had “done nothing wrong”.

“I have no concerns with her place in the team from a performance perspective. There’s no reason why [she shouldn’t be there] from a performance perspective,” she said.