rationalskepticism.org

Like it or not, professional sports people get paid large amounts of money because they play their sports with the logos of big corporations plastered across their clothes and equipment. Obviously that comes with a certain amount of responsibility to restrict what you say to non-bigoted statements. Hell, even an ordinary person could expect to be fired if they were caught spouting bigotry in their supermarket uniform. That's not a restriction of free speech, it's just an expectation that you're a representative of your employer when you're adorned in their logo. Obviously with higher profile jobs, this goes further into all of your public appearances and statements. He didn't make these comments in a private conversation with friends. He made them on an Instagram account that he explicitly uses to promote his latest brand deals. Unsurprisingly, Qantas were reportedly not too keen on seeing their logo appear on his chest in the future.

A talented rugby player will likely not have trouble finding employment somewhere, but perhaps the big money associated with keeping your mouth shut and being professional are likely to disappear for him. And personally, I don't have much of a problem with that, nor do I consider it a restriction on free speech.