Qantas under pressure over Folau's homophobic comments

Israel Folau's latest homophobic tweet has placed Rugby Australia under pressure to act as Twitter users question Qantas' association with the Wallabies star.

Israel Folau of the Wallabies runs with a ball before the rugby match between Australia and the Barbarians at Allianz Stadium in Sydney, Saturday, October 28, 2017.

Israel Folau of the Wallabies runs with a ball before the rugby match between Australia and the Barbarians at Allianz Stadium in Sydney, Saturday, October 28. Source: AAP

Rugby Australia's major sponsor is under pressure to take action after Wallabies star Israel Folau's latest controversial tweet.

Australia's highest-profile player sparked social media outrage on Wednesday when he said gay people were headed to "HELL ... Unless they repent of their sins and turn to God" in response to a question on social media.

The comment did not go down well with social media users with some calling on Qantas and the Wallabies, as advocates for equal rights and marriage equality, for a response.
The governing body on Thursday said "Folau's personal beliefs do not reflect the views of Rugby Australia" as a flurry of Twitter users questioned whether Qantas - a vocal supporter of same-sex marriage - should align itself with the Wallabies and, by association, Folau.

"Rugby supports all forms of inclusion, whether its sexuality, race, or gender, which is set out in our Inclusion Policy (2014)," Rugby Australia said in a statement.

Folau deleted his post after he was asked "what was gods (sic) plan for gay people", but a screenshot allowed other social media users -including the fullback's some 337,000 followers - to see the provocative exchange.

A devout Christian, Folau served as a face of the Bingham Cup, an amateur gay rugby tournament staged in Sydney in 2014.

The Qantas Wallabies supported the Yes campaign during the same-sex marriage postal survey last year.

But Folau first courted controversy last year when he publicly opposed same-sex marriage.

"I love and respect all people for who they are and their opinions. but personally, I will not support gay marriage," said the three-times John Eales Medallist as Australian rugby's Test player of the year.

Folau's Super Rugby employers the NSW Waratahs consider the 29-year-old's religious beliefs his personal opinion.

But many social media users are less than pleased that "unlike Australia, Israel Folau isn't moving with the times".

Australians voted in favour of legalising same-sex marriage last year with 61.6 per cent of responses voting Yes.

Same-sex couples were able to marry as of 9 January after new laws passed federal parliament in December.


Share
2 min read

Published

Updated



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world