QUESTION: Did I have a choice about being a rugby fan?
ANSWER: Of course I did.
And that word, choice, is the basis of what I would like to talk about today.
I'm not going to bore you with the details about Israel Folau's situation. Lets just say he is in court at the moment contesting his contract with the Australian Rugby Union been torn up.
In April of 2019, Israel Folau posted on his Instagram the following:
When this came out (no pun intended) I was really annoyed with it all but I have changed my tune a little and I would like to explain my thoughts.
I don't have a problem with religion. I don't have a problem with free speech. I'm really happy that we live in a society in which we can speak our truth and say what is on our mind without fear of been put in jail. I feel proud that we live in a society in which people are free to worship whatever god they choose and (in most cases) not get persecuted because of it. Unlike the guy and his country below:
This brings me to the word CHOICE again.
People have a CHOICE to follow a religion or to believe in a particular god.
People have a CHOICE to have an alcoholic drink.
People have a CHOICE to cheat on their spouse.
People have a CHOICE to tell lies again and again.
People have a CHOICE to have sex outside of marriage.
People have a CHOICE to steal possessions from another person.
People have a CHOICE to not believe in a god if they so desire.
People have a CHOICE to worship an idol. (To be fair, I don't really understand what an Idolater is.)
However, people do not have a CHOICE about what their sexuality will be. Attraction is not a CHOICE. I'll repeat that, Attraction is not a CHOICE.
I didn't wake up one morning and decide that "today I'm going to want to have sex with women." It is a natural thing that we develop as we grow up.
Whether Israel Folau deserved to lose his job or not is for the court to decide in the next few weeks.
As a rugby union fan I would like to see Israel Folau play in the Rugby World Cup this year because he is a good player, maybe even great and a strong Wallabies team is good for world rugby and the World Cup.
Israel Folau should be allowed to continued to post whatever he wants on Instagram because that is his basic human right. No argument from me, but I would say that he thinks a little bit more before posting anything in the future.
What if Cristiano Ronaldo posts on his Instagram the following?:
Hell Awaits:
Adulterers
Fornicators
Liars
Thieves
Drunks
Atheists
Tongan Australians
Idolaters
There would be similar outcry to his post in April and rightly so.
People who say that the drunk community didn't say anything about the post are trivialising the whole thing.
The court proceedings at the moment are to do with breach of contract, something which Israel Folau chose to do. Nothing to do with religious rights or freedom of speech. People should remember that.
Lets get back to what we should really be talking about:
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