Without provocation, the athlete takes to Twitter to spew out garbage
Days after the first openly gay rugby player, Ian Roberts successfully convinced the National Rugby League to support the “yes” initiative for marriage equality, devout Christian footballer decided to take to Twitter and spew out his anti-gay thoughts.
Israel Folau, a 28-year-old, shared the following message on the social media channel:
“I love and respect all people for who they are and their opinions. but personally, I will not support gay marriage.”
I love and respect all people for who they are and their opinions. but personally, I will not support gay marriage.✌❤?
— Israel Folau (@IzzyFolau) September 13, 2017
FYI: Australia is currently collecting results for a referendum by postal vote on the issue of same-sex marriage. That’s why Falau's tweet attracted caused such a major stir.
Thankfully, teammate David Peacock had a different view and shared the following with his fans, saying: “When my survey arrives I’ll #VoteYes for justice and love.”
In the words of one of my heroes, “my humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.” #VoteYes #MarriageEquality pic.twitter.com/VPwuglbhl2
— David Pocock (@pocockdavid) September 13, 2017
Per the Sydney Morning Herald:
“Folau is one of Australia's most popular athletes, having played at the highest level in rugby union, rugby league and Australian football.
The 28-year-old was raised as a Mormon but is now a devout Christian after his family converted in 2011. He is one of the Wallabies' most influential players and is engaged to New Zealand netball player Maria Tutaia.
Folau credits his relationship with God as one of the reasons for his athletic prowess and his success in the NRL, AFL and rugby union.
Folau's tweet didn't only draw criticism, however, with many in support of his right to state his opinion among the 132 replies, 45 retweets and 172 likes within the first hour of it being posted on Twitter.”
Many of the responses to Folau’s Tweet expressed anger and outrage. Some have rainbow bombed his social media accounts.
Examples from visitors include:
“You obviously don't love and respect people if you want them to have less rights than you”
And ..
“I don’t remember ANYONE asking for his thoughts on lgbt issues or his permission to do ANYTHING”,
and…
“It’s okay the gay people don’t want you either.”
h/t: The Sydney Morning Herald
