Rugby Australia CEO Raelene CastleGETTY IMAGES
Israel Folau "conceded his comments about gays being destined for hell were disrespectful, but gave no guarantees" to his employers at Rugby Australia that he would "refrain from posting further inflammatory remarks on social media," according to Jamie Pandaram of the AAP. It left RA and the NSW Waratahs "frustrated, with their biggest star leaving a meeting on Tuesday giving no clear resolution" to the controversy that has "plagued rugby for the past week." Folau "will not back down from his Christian beliefs," but RA CEO Raelene Castle and Waratahs CEO Andrew Hore "had hoped to get a commitment from him" that he would "steer clear of repeating the anti-gay comments." Instead, Folau was adamant that he will "continue to stand up for his beliefs despite the outrage" his comments have caused, and the parties agreed to meet again soon to "iron out the complex navigation" between free speech and ostracizing "a section of the community." Castle: "Even Israel acknowledged that maybe he could have put a positive spin on that same message and done it in a less disrespectful way." Folau, 29, "failed to guarantee" that he would "stop commenting on the gay community on social media" as RA execs had hoped, and "snuck out of RA’s Moore Park offices after the sit-down to escape media questioning" (AAP, 4/10). In Sydney, Tom Decent reported Folau "has avoided sanctions, for the time being," but Castle did not "explicitly rule out punishment down the track" if RA and Folau cannot "see eye-to-eye on the matter of taming his religious beliefs that have divided public opinion." While there is now "greater understanding on both sides of the table, a resolution was not reached in terms of moderating Folau's comments." Castle said, "Israel's gone away to think. For him, he's proud of what he is and what he stands for. He wants to make sure that we are not asking him to compromise those beliefs but at the same time we explained to him this is challenging for us. This is not a simple issue" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 4/10).
FOLAU DIGS IN: In Sydney, Andrew Webster reported the relationship between RA and Folau "has soured" following the meeting. Rugby league is "already preparing to pounce on the off-contract star," with NRL CEO Todd Greenberg asking club bosses at their annual conference on the Gold Coast how they would "deal with Folau’s controversial comments." Folau told Castle that he was not worried about "positive spin." He said that he will "walk away from the game if necessary." Doubtless, RA officials "are scanning Folau’s Twitter and Instagram accounts, waiting to see if he has anything more to say." At "the time of publication," he had remained silent. Folau is "off contract at the end of this season." His deal with RA and the Waratahs is reportedly worth about A$1M ($780,000) a year (SMH, 4/10).
