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Is that a thing?
James Pettifer
Jim Clark (26)
And if there is no reaction from RA and Alan Joyce decides that he does not want to be involved with an organisation which allows those sort of comments and pulls Qantas's sponsorship ...
Tiger Air Wallabies.
Derpus
Nathan Sharpe (72)
They fly backwards?
Beer Baron
Phil Hardcastle (33)
Muppets have always had a voice. Now they all potentially have an audience.
If only Israel's God didn't create social media.
Made infinitely worse by every news article quoting twitters reaction to any remotely contentious subject as if the opinion of some anonymous person actually validates the article. (a lot of) Journalists have (allowed) to become extremely lazy thanks to social media.
Derpus
Nathan Sharpe (72)
Journalists don't exist anymore m8. The trick to a succesful newspaper is to cook up a nice clickbaity headline and copy/paste someone elses content that only vaguely relates to the title. See SMH for examples.
James Pettifer
Jim Clark (26)
news.com is 100 times worse. I don't know why I bother with that site anymore. Articles on some stupid reality show. And some stupid article on Warner's awkward interview where apparently he didn't recognise someone that I have never heard of.
The Honey Badger
Jim Lenehan (48)
When anyone chooses to Follow someone on Twitter or Instagram, then you are saying "I am interested in you and want to hear your views"
In the case of Israel his views on Homosexuality and religion are well known.
Any of his followers that took offence obviously shouldn't have been there in the first place.
I support his right to free speech.
Just wish he would worry more about getting his hammy better.
Sent from my MHA-L09 using Tapatalk
In the case of Israel his views on Homosexuality and religion are well known.
Any of his followers that took offence obviously shouldn't have been there in the first place.
I support his right to free speech.
Just wish he would worry more about getting his hammy better.
Sent from my MHA-L09 using Tapatalk
That's not really how social media works. It wasn't a private statement made to a few people.
Clearly the audience is far bigger than just the people who follow him as we are witnessing now.
If RA didn't act and Qantas pulled their sponsorship because RA's most prominent player's views do not align with their own and RA has been accepting of those views (this is an extreme example but of course possible) where does that leave things?
Cricket Australia lost sponsors because of the behaviour of their players in the ball tampering saga.
The actions of players whether they are on the field or in public forums can clearly have consequences. Folau is free to say what he wants but that doesn't mean those words don't come with consequences for his employer who he represents in everything he does or in turn for himself.
T
TOCC
Guest
You’re missing the point... and whether you agree with his choice of words isn’t the point either, Folau is allowed to have his own beliefs as you or I are, and the RA inclusion policy allows him to have his own religious beliefs. No one is annoyed at Folau for being Christian.
However when he put in writing that ‘gays will go to hell’ in a medium which gets shared to hundreds of thousands, it is no longer about what his beliefs are, it’s about how his words and actions impact on others.. Thats the issue you seem to be missing.. an inclusion policy is not a policy to support people stating anything they want regardless of whether it offends others or not, it’s a policy designed to promote freedom of beliefs without imposing on one another or making another feel embarrassed or ashamed about their sexual orientation or cultural beliefs. And that’s where Folau crosses the line, his actions unecesaarily imposed upon another group. You need to grasp that comments like this promote a social stigma that homosexuality is something to be embarrassed about or something which shouldn’t take place, it places enormous emotional and social pressure on those who are gay and promotes a policy of exclusion not inclusion.
I seem to remember when Pocock complained to the referee that Potgeiter made ‘faggot’ comments during a game that you thought Pocock should have not said anything and just quietly spoken with Potgeiter after the game, you then went on to criticise Pocock for saying what he did during the game and making a scene. Where was your defence of free speech then? Perhaps Folau should have just quietly spoken to all the gays off to the side and told them they are all going to hell rather then making a scene on social media.
Potgieter was fined and attended Convicts training after his incident. Folau should receive an equal or greater punishment. His profile is higher and his target is an entire group of people, of which I am one. Folau is basically saying that gay people are worse than he is and are not worthy. And he is supposedly a role model to all rugby supporters, many of whom are gay or don't know it yet. It's a bad look and against the RA inclusion policy.
I'd hate to be a gay player at the Waratahs at the moment knowing that a teammate thought so poorly of me for something I can't control.
I'd hate to be a gay player at the Waratahs at the moment knowing that a teammate thought so poorly of me for something I can't control.
I think this is a bit of a stretch. Let's not overstate this - we know Folau is Christian and anti-gay marriage. Nobody should be surprised he thinks gays go to hell.
Sponsors and the public are smart enough to distinguish between personally held views and things said and done with a gold jersey on. If he refused to play alongside a homosexual team-mate then it's another thing entirely.
All that said....... it was a really dumb thing to say. Although he's one of our great players, he's a bloody weird egg. And someone at RA should tell him to pull his head in, for his own sake as much as theirs.
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Of course it is a stretch. That's why I said it was an extreme example.
It is not a stretch that Qantas is going to receive feedback that they should reconsider being associated with the Wallabies.
It's not the same, though. Potgieter used a homophobic slur on the field, directed at another player. It's clearly not appropriate and the punishment fit the crime.
In this case, Folau is using his personal social media to profess his personally held religious view. Of course it was a really dumb thing to post, but it's not the same as what Potgieter did IMO, and it's much harder to punish him for doing it.
That's not to say it's acceptable, and there should be some action behind the scenes. But I'm not sure sending him to Convicts training is the answer.
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