Israel Folau says he would 'absolutely' repeat 'offensive' social media post

Fallen rugby union star Israel Folau has reportedly told a conservative Christian conference he would 'absolutely' repeat the social media post that led to his sacking.

Israel Folau arrives for a conciliation hearing at the Fair Work Commission in Sydney, Friday, June 28, 2019

Israel Folau arrives for a conciliation hearing at the Fair Work Commission in Sydney, Friday, 28 June, 2019 Source: AAP

Israel Folau says he knew telling homosexuals they were destined for hell would be "offensive" but would "absolutely" repeat it.

The fallen rugby union star was a headline speaker at the national conference of the conservative Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) on Saturday, telling the hundreds in attendance about the controversial social media posts that led to his sacking in May.

"I knew it was going to be offensive to a lot of people," he said, in comments reported by multiple media outlets.

He said he would "absolutely" do it again, adding his real conversion to a born-again Christian had led to his change in social media use.

The 30-year-old, who has also played rugby league and AFL at the highest level, is fighting Rugby Australia in a federal court over the termination of his $4 million contract.

Among his social media posts while a Rugby Australia employee, Folau claimed transgender people were evil and paraphrased a Bible passage saying "drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists and idolators" would go to hell unless they repented.

He has been closely linked to the ACL since his sacking.

After GoFundMe dumped Folau's fundraising page for legal fees, the organisation stepped in to host the appeal.

It eventually raised $2 million within 48 hours.

In turn, Folau and his wife Maria have helped promote the ACL's national conference dubbed Not Ashamed.

NSW Liberal MP and anti-abortion campaigner Tanya Davies, ACL managing director Martyn Iles and political historian Stephen Chavura also addressed the conference.


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2 min read
Published 19 October 2019 5:12pm
Updated 19 October 2019 5:23pm


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