Posted: Apr 15, 2019 12:44 pm
Blackadder wrote:I find his comments repugnant. Yet I am uneasy with punishing people for expressing their views. I would rather see such ideas wither and die from exposure and ridicule.
^^ This.
Thomas Eshuis wrote:I think that competitive sports, unlike citizenship is a commercial issue and therefore a club should have every right to ban players as long as they don't do so for illegal reasons, like racism.
^^ Also this.
Much as I deplore the comment, from Israel Folau's point of view, he's not being homophobic. He's just reporting what he believes will happen to gays. In response to a question from someone else, in fact. He's not saying he's going to do anything to hasten their arrival there, and we don't know whether he actually acts in a discriminatory way toward them.
To the fundamentalist Christian, any unbeliever is going to hell - if the questioner had asked what was God's plan for unbelievers in general, he'd have given the same reply, and it would have passed mostly without note, other than that he's a crazy fundie.
I agree that the Australian Rugby Union has the right to employ whom they want, and expect them to be ambassadors for the sport, and as such, place limits on what they say in public. If he breached the terms of his contract, then they have the right to sack him.
But it's a shame that we now live in an age where saying unpalatable things summarily terminates your career. Personally, I think it would be better if people could roll their eyes, conclude that he's a dick, and move on.
As the OP said, he's now received all the affirmation he needs by being made into a metaphorical martyr.