Pride in Sport praises Rugby Australia’s response to Folau
Image: A Pride in Sport promotional image. Photo: Pride in Sport/Facebook.
Australia’s LGBTQ sporting inclusion program, Pride in Sport, has praised Rugby Australia’s “unwavering commitment” to inclusion after they reached a settlement with Israel Folau over his homophobic comments.
In a statement on Thursday, Pride in Sport National Program Manager Beau Newell said Rugby Australia had been “steadfast and resolute” in their handling of Folau, including their decision to sack him.
“Rugby Australia’s swift and decisive action in terminating Folau’s contract for his infraction was an unprecedented and bold step that demonstrated their belief that homophobic and transphobic discrimination is not acceptable in sport,” Newell said.
“This remains Rugby Australia’s strong position and we commend them for their unflagging charge in upholding the values of inclusion and diversity, and their continued efforts to making sport a fairer and more inclusive place for everyone.
“Moving forward, we can now reflect on this incident, which might help other sports handle similar issues should they arise and show the Australian community that sport can be an inclusive place for people with diverse backgrounds, sexualities and genders.”
Newell added there was a “sense of disappointment among many that an apology from Israel Folau to LGBTQ people has not been forthcoming”.
“We also note that his post remains on his social media feed. We understand people’s anger and share in their frustration,” Newell said.
“The views of Mr Folau on LGBTQ people do not reflect community standards and expectations, and remain at odds with most Australians. Such statements work against the significant progress on acceptance and inclusion that is being made by sporting codes, clubs and organisations across Australia, including the work carried out by Rugby Australia since partnering with Pride in Sport in 2016.
“Homophobia and transphobia have no place in sport, whether on or off the field.”
On Thursday, Rugby Australia CEO Raelene Castle defended Rugby Australia’s decision to terminate Folau’s contract and said rugby was an inclusive sport.
“We made the right decision in calling out Israel on his posts and inappropriate messaging,” she said.
“At the end of the day, we stood up for the values of Rugby Australia… We stuck to our values that inclusiveness is core to the key of rugby.”
I agree with the posters here; it takes quite some spin to see the outcome of this debacle as a victory for LGBTIQ people.
Folau is a multi-millionaire homophobe, who has just made even more money out of his homophobic bleating.
No apology to the LGBTIQ communities, but RA has apologised to him! Strange!
I imagine we will hear more rants from Mr Folau in the future.
I don’t think Folau has changed one iota. His self-congratulatory smile is that of a spoiled child whose parents have given in to its incessant crying to get its own way for the sake of peace and quiet.
….so why do gay people feel like they’ve lost and been thrown under the bus? The case was water tight but now he’s received a goodly sum as “compensation” and RA has apologised? Excuse me if I’m still trying to find where is the victory in all this?
This response from Pride in Sport is absolutely laughable. RA’s decision was purely commercial based and handed Israel Folau and his supporters a moral victory and public support of bigotry. Face facts, RA threw LGBTIQ+ people under the bus. I think It’s about time people started to question who these self-appointed LGBT “leaders” are and what are their objectives.