The chairman of Rugby Australia says corporate sponsors and the state and federal government would have deserted the game if they hadn't sacked Israel Folau, accusing the star player of blatantly misrepresenting the facts in "soft ball PR interviews" with conservative media outlets.
In an interview with the Herald on Friday after settlement negotiations broke down between Rugby Australia and the footballer, paving the way for Folau to lodge an unlawful termination claim in the Federal Court, RA chairman Cameron Clyne opened fire on the sacked Wallaby.
Mr Clyne said the prospect of a drawn out court battle was a "painful" one for Australian rugby, but the alternative was worse if RA had not acted against Folau's Instagram post in April warning homosexuals, among other groups, were destined for hell.
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"Which would be that we'd have no sponsors at all because no sponsor has indicated they would be willing to be associated with social media posts of that sort and that includes government, because we've also heard from them," he said.
"We would also potentially be in litigation with employees who are gay and who would say we're not providing a work place that is safe or respectful."
RA receives federal and state funding across different levels of the game.
Folau appeared on Alan Jones's Sky News show on Thursday night and claimed, in comments strongly refuted by RA, that he had been offered money to take down the offending Instagram post.
Mr Clyne said he still hoped to avoid a protracted legal battle.
"We've been open to [a mediated solution] from the get go but there's obviously two different perspectives on that," he said, referring to Folau rejecting RA's previous overtures.
Cameron Clyne and Israel Folau.Credit:
"We are looking at it from the good of the game as a whole. No one is suggesting this is helpful but I would go back to Israel Folau's comments from last year when he said if it was hurting the game he'd walk away for the good of the game.
"Since this issue has emerged I've asked those who've said we should have taken a different response to suggest what that alternative was and so far no one has been able to do that.
"But to those who are saying you should bankrupt the game and allow religious freedom, well we do allow religious freedom but what we don't allow is disparagement and that's clear under [Folau's] contract."
In response to the former Wallaby's demands for an apology and an admission from RA he had been sacked because of his religion, Mr Clyne strongly defended RA's position.
"I'm not sure exactly what we're apologising for, I don't quite understand that request," he said.
"We've provided a player with opportunities and asked him to adhere to a contract and a generous one at that. Israel was not sacked for his religion, he was sacked for a breach of his contract."
Mr Clyne criticised Folau's camp for "blatant misrepresentation" of the facts.
"What is frustrating is that as the governing body we have a long term obligation to protect the integrity of the game, which means we have to play by the rules," he said.
"We've got a lot of people misrepresenting facts, or deliberately ignoring them, you've got soft ball PR interviews with blatant misrepresentations, but that's not the game we can play.
"We've never given up on mediation, we've made many attempts, but we've also got to remember that this is bigger than Israel Folau, we have a duty to every other professional and community player in the game. We can't accept a scenario where contracts become arbitrary."
Folau, a dual international and professional footballer across all three of Australia's winter codes, had his four-year, $4 million contract torn up last month over his Instagram post.
It was his second social media comment in a year saying gay people are destined for hell, after an April 2018 comment on Instagram over which he was warned but escaped sanction.
"There was an initial breach last year, we went through a process of discussing that breach and outlining Israel's obligations under his contract," Mr Clyne said.
"We had an independent tribunal, which went throuRead More – Source
The chairman of Rugby Australia says corporate sponsors and the state and federal government would have deserted the game if they hadn't sacked Israel Folau, accusing the star player of blatantly misrepresenting the facts in "soft ball PR interviews" with conservative media outlets.
In an interview with the Herald on Friday after settlement negotiations broke down between Rugby Australia and the footballer, paving the way for Folau to lodge an unlawful termination claim in the Federal Court, RA chairman Cameron Clyne opened fire on the sacked Wallaby.
Mr Clyne said the prospect of a drawn out court battle was a "painful" one for Australian rugby, but the alternative was worse if RA had not acted against Folau's Instagram post in April warning homosexuals, among other groups, were destined for hell.
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"Which would be that we'd have no sponsors at all because no sponsor has indicated they would be willing to be associated with social media posts of that sort and that includes government, because we've also heard from them," he said.
"We would also potentially be in litigation with employees who are gay and who would say we're not providing a work place that is safe or respectful."
RA receives federal and state funding across different levels of the game.
Folau appeared on Alan Jones's Sky News show on Thursday night and claimed, in comments strongly refuted by RA, that he had been offered money to take down the offending Instagram post.
Mr Clyne said he still hoped to avoid a protracted legal battle.
"We've been open to [a mediated solution] from the get go but there's obviously two different perspectives on that," he said, referring to Folau rejecting RA's previous overtures.
Cameron Clyne and Israel Folau.Credit:
"We are looking at it from the good of the game as a whole. No one is suggesting this is helpful but I would go back to Israel Folau's comments from last year when he said if it was hurting the game he'd walk away for the good of the game.
"Since this issue has emerged I've asked those who've said we should have taken a different response to suggest what that alternative was and so far no one has been able to do that.
"But to those who are saying you should bankrupt the game and allow religious freedom, well we do allow religious freedom but what we don't allow is disparagement and that's clear under [Folau's] contract."
In response to the former Wallaby's demands for an apology and an admission from RA he had been sacked because of his religion, Mr Clyne strongly defended RA's position.
"I'm not sure exactly what we're apologising for, I don't quite understand that request," he said.
"We've provided a player with opportunities and asked him to adhere to a contract and a generous one at that. Israel was not sacked for his religion, he was sacked for a breach of his contract."
Mr Clyne criticised Folau's camp for "blatant misrepresentation" of the facts.
"What is frustrating is that as the governing body we have a long term obligation to protect the integrity of the game, which means we have to play by the rules," he said.
"We've got a lot of people misrepresenting facts, or deliberately ignoring them, you've got soft ball PR interviews with blatant misrepresentations, but that's not the game we can play.
"We've never given up on mediation, we've made many attempts, but we've also got to remember that this is bigger than Israel Folau, we have a duty to every other professional and community player in the game. We can't accept a scenario where contracts become arbitrary."
Folau, a dual international and professional footballer across all three of Australia's winter codes, had his four-year, $4 million contract torn up last month over his Instagram post.
It was his second social media comment in a year saying gay people are destined for hell, after an April 2018 comment on Instagram over which he was warned but escaped sanction.
"There was an initial breach last year, we went through a process of discussing that breach and outlining Israel's obligations under his contract," Mr Clyne said.
"We had an independent tribunal, which went throuRead More – Source
