HATE SPEECH: the case of Israel Folau
But first, who is Israel Folau?
The above hero video tells it all. He’s a Polynesian Australian.
He's a member of “Pasifika” and “Pasifika peoples” - terms used to describe a minority community of people living in Australia and New Zealand who have migrated from the Pacific Islands or who identify with the Pacific Islands because of ancestry or heritage.
He’s a sporting hero: the highest try-scorer in the Qantas Wallabies, the Australian national Rugby Union team. You can’t get better than that.
He’s a strong evangelical Christian. That appears to be a thing within the Pasifika community in Sydney. It probably harks back to the strong influence of the Christian missionaries to the Islands over a hundred years ago.
He’s a family man, whose wife is Maria ; she's a great sporting champion in her own right.
But this story is not about Maria.
Above: Israel Folau and his wife Maria
Without doubt, Israel Folau is a role model for Islander youth in Australia. Therein lies the rub. He was unceremoniously sacked from the national Wallabies rugby team, no doubt with pressure from the CEO of Qantas, Alan Joyce - the prime financial sponsor of Rugby Australia.
Above: Alan Joyce, CEO of Qantas (right) with his husband, Shane Lloyd.
And Israel's crime?
It was merely the posting to his 350,000+ followers on Instagram a thought-provoking graphic image paraphrasing a passage of the Bible. His post got 50,000+ "likes"!
Above: Israel Folau's Instagram graphic
The graphic, as every ordinary reasonable person should know, simply expresses traditional Christian disapproval of certain licentious human behaviours.
The problem with this message is the reference to "homosexuals". That is because there is anti-discrimination laws in New South Wales that incorporate the word "homosexual" to denote a minority group.
That law - section 49ZT of the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act - is designed to render unlawful "public acts" that "incite" a person to experience a feeling of "contempt" or "hatred" towards a "homosexual" person or group.
We believe that, if Israel Folau had been a bit more street-wise, he would have used the traditional biblical word "sodomite" rather than the word "homosexual". Then there would be widespread acceptance that this graphic was a true expression of Christian religious belief and attitude to all this socially and morally undesirable behaviour.
Or, better, he might have not attempted to paraphrased the Bible quote. His wording made the Bible quote more strident, more fear-mongering.
But maybe this stern and direct parent-to-child evangelical approach is what he thinks will keep his youthful Pasifika followers on the straight-and-narrow and out of jail.
Instead, Israel Folau might have quoted directly from the Bible, without any simplification.
Here it is: 1 Corinthians 6: 9-10.
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
"Homosexual' and 'homosexuality' is a protected attribute under New South Wales anti-discrimination law. That's the problem. That law is not even-handed, because a 'fornicator' and 'adulterer' is not a protected attribute under that law.
Israel has lost his career with Rugby Australia for posting that graphic, and he sued them under unfair dismissal laws. The defendant, Rugby Australia eventually settled outside court, apologised, and gave Israel a big payout of several millions of dollars for the unfair dismissal.
The alternative for the perpetrator, Rugby Australia - might have been a much greater loss in the High Court of Australia in the matter Folau v Rugby Australia.
Here is Israel's YouTube clip in which he, and his wife Maria, extend a big thank-you to all his fans who supported him in this battle against LGBT political correctness.
And a special thanks went to Martin Iles, the Chairman of the Australian Christian Lobby.
--ooOoo--
From the Australian newspaper, November 18, 2021
Read report here: https://tinyurl.com/20211118-FOLAU (PDF, 2 pages, 66 kilobytes)
Thanks for the help but I’m off, says Folau
Reporters: Wally Mason & Christy Doran
Israel Folau
From The Australian newspaper, Tuesday, July 6, 2021
Just days after winning his fight to return to playing rugby league in Australia, Israel Folau has turned his back on the game without lacing on a boot.
And the sacked Wallaby is on his way back to the game that spurned him – signing on to play for a Japanese rugby club.
Rather than play with the Southport Tigers in the Gold Coast A-grade competition, Folau will join Japanese Top League side NTT Communications.
It is understood Folau’s Japanese contract is significantly less than the $1m a season he was on in his time as Wallabies fullback and it carries strict clauses relating to his social media activity.
Devout Christian Folau’s Wallabies career ended in 2019 when Rugby Australia tore up his contract over social media posts deemed to be homophobic.
After a drawn-out legal battle with RA, which resulted in a significant damages package, Folau signed to play with Catalan Dragons in the UK Super League.
However, he returned to Australia for personal reasons this year and began a push to return to rugby league.
His decision to abandon that push and return to rugby will be a slap in the face for mining magnate Clive Palmer, who had thrown his weight – and his significant bank balance – behind a campaign to get Folau back into the NRL. At one point he appeared destined to sign for St George Illawarra, only for the Dragons to lose interest after a backlash from their supporters and sponsors.
The QRL received a similar response when there were suggestions he could make his return to the game through the Queensland Cup. With his options drying up, Palmer came to the rescue, putting Folau on a $250,000 contract as a potential Southport player and launching legal action to convince the QRL to let him play.
“Israel Folau is a perfect role model for the game and the QRL needs to recognise that,” said Palmer, who played for the Tigers as a younger man.
“Israel doesn’t drink, smoke or take drugs. He has never been charged with a criminal offence.
“He loves his wife and his son. He has a rugby playing record second to none.
“Israel, like any other Australian, has the right to support his family.
“He simply is the best rugby player in the world and regardless of the jealousy some of the QRL members may have or their misguided understanding of their obligations, he will be registered. The administration of rugby league in this state needs a shake-up.”
Last week the campaign appeared to be working, with Catalans granting Folau a release and the QRL registering him to play.
He was set to play for the Tigers on Sunday, before Covid-19 restrictions led to the game being cancelled.
He could still get the chance to play alongside his two brothers at Southport, as the Japanese season does not start until September.
And bizarrely he will be eligible to play for the Wallabies under the rules that allow players who have played 60 Tests and given seven years service to be selected from overseas. However, after two years out of the game he is unlikely to be in Wallabies coach Dave Rennie’s plans.
However, he could find himself playing against Australian teams if Japanese sides are included in whatever competition eventually replaces Super Rugby in 2022.
Folau will play under sacked Waratahs coach Rob Penney, who has been announced as the director of rugby at NTT Communications. Former Wallaby Liam Gill is also playing for the club.
HE'S BACK: FOLAU FINALLY GETS HIS WISH
RUGBY LEAGUE
by BRENT READ
Published in The Australian newspaper, Wednesday, June 30, 2021
Israel Folau, right, with his billionaire backer Clive Palmer, has had his way cleared for a return to rugby league this weekend.
Israel Folau has a clearance and Clive Palmer has his way.
Folau, having tried and failed on two occasions to secure a return to rugby league, finally got his wish on Tuesday, when he received a clearance from French club Catalans and had his contract registered by the Queensland Rugby League.
He will make his return on Saturday for the Southport Tigers alongside his brothers John and Eni in the Gold Coast A-grade competition. It’s a far cry from his halcyon days, when he travelled the world as a superstar with the Wallabies.
But anything will do at the moment for the dual international, given Folau has been in limbo since returning to Australia after a stint with Catalans.
St George Illawarra tried to sign the dual international before it was frightened off by a backlash from sponsors. The QRL then blocked his return when it was warned it was at risk of losing of corporate supporters.
Palmer came to the rescue, handing Folau a $250,000 contract and vowing to back him with every dollar in his armoury.
He launched legal action against the QRL, but it was the decision to pay a compensation fee to Catalans – believed to be about $50,000 – that cleared the way for his comeback.
“Israel remains one of the best players in Queensland and Australia, and his absence from the game has been too long,” Palmer said on Tuesday.
“All he wants to do is play with his brothers and enjoy the game he loves. He only wants to participate in the greatest game of all.”
In a statement from Catalans, chairman Bernard Guasch said: “Israel has been great with us in 2020, both on and off the field, and we wanted to facilitate the negotiations to reach an agreement.
“He told us his desire to play alongside his two brothers and we didn’t want to prevent him. We wish him all the best in the next chapter of his career.”
It is understood the legal action against the QRL remains on foot, although the expectation is that it will be dropped now that Palmer has his way.
The only issue will be whether Palmer wants to fight the QRL’s decision to clear Folau to only play in the Gold Coast A-grade competition alone – he will need to make further representations if, as expected, he wants to push on and play in the QRL, and possibly NRL.
The parties also need to reach an agreement over costs.
“As previously stated, the QRL board has carefully considered all aspects of the registration request, in line with its current rules and processes,” the QRL said in a statement.
“The QRL made clear from the outset that Mr Folau would be registered upon completion of the registration process, including the obtaining of a release from his previous overseas club, as per the rules of the game.
“This has today been forthcoming with authorisation from the game’s international body, meaning the QRL has now been able to finalise his registration with the Southport Tigers.”
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Gotta love Clive Palmer whilst the rest of the nation has been brainwashed to hate him.
So... what has that Instagram post got to do with Rugby?
Rhetorical question.
Rhetorical question indeed! Social Justice (upper case 'S' and 'J' aka Applied Critical Theory) has now captured most Big Media (bar The Australian and Sky News and a few others), Big Corporations like Qantas and Telstra who both have as CEO a man-married-to-a-man, and of course the Australian Labor and Australian Greens Party's. And all the so-called Human Rights Commissions and Anti-Discrimination Boards. You know this is true whenever you hear these people parroting "diversity" and "inclusion". That is "code" for the "LGBTQI+" political agenda. Rugby Australia was no exception: CEO at the time was a very woke transgender-looking man or woman whatever the case may have been.
You asked the rhetorical question "so what has this got to do with Rugby? Indeed.
This story from New Zealand shows the absurd consequences of the LGBT Agenda - for which the code words are "diversity and inclusion".
Few people understand that this agenda is huge, global, and linked to Goal 5 of the UN's Agenda 2030. That globalist agenda is about "sustainability" of the planet, so of course over-population is one thing that needs to be tackled.
The cause of over-population is heterosexuality.
The attack on heteronormativity is also an attack on the Christian ethos and the normal family with mother, father and children.
This story (below) illustrates how the LGBT agenda is real, powerful, and largely successful it its aims. It is to spread and encourage the acceptance of homosexuality by influencing the influencers, namely university students, corporate HR departments, and of course future opinion makers, children in schools (the "safe schools" program in Australia).
If All Whites nickname is axed, where does that leave ‘All Blacks’?
Grant Chapman puts New Zealand’s most famous sporting brand under the diversity spotlight.
MSN