11 Apr 2019

Israel Folau under fire again for homophobic comments

From Morning Report, 7:35 am on 11 April 2019

The Australian rugby player Israel Folau's under fire - again - for another social media post saying homosexuals are going to hell. The rugby union integrity unit is investigating the Instagram post from Wednesday, in which he warns drunks, homosexuals, liars and fornicators - among others - are doomed for hell unless they repent. It's been liked nearly 10,000 times, and has garnered more than 5,000 comments, the vast majority condemning his comments. Folau has over 300,000 followers, and quotes the Bible in the accompanying caption. Folau also took to Twitter to denounce Tasmania's decision to legalise gender-optional birth certificates. His views on the topic aren't new - last year he shared an Instagram post saying God's plan for gay people was hell. The comments then sparked calls for Rugby Australia to scrap his contract - but after months he was re-signed with the proviso he'd be more respectful on social media. At the time, Rugby Australia's chief exeuctive Raelene Castle said it was a tricky situation.