Coach Michael Cheika yesterday said that he would not have been able to select fullback Israel Folau for the Wallabies after his latest “disrespectful” social media posts attacking gay people.
Cheika spoke to reporters for the first time since Folau, a devout Christian, posted on Instagram that gay people would go to hell unless they repented.
Cheika was flanked by Daryl Gibson, who coaches Folau’s Super Rugby team, the New South Wales Waratahs, and Michael Hooper, who captains the Wallabies and Waratahs, and who said he would have been reluctant to play beside Folau after his latest comments.
A day after Folau told a newspaper it would be “God’s will” if he never played again, Rugby Australia yesterday served him with formal notice that he had breached its code of conduct, starting a process expected to end with the termination of Folau’s Wallabies and Waratahs contracts.
“We appreciate this matter will attract significant interest, but due process must be followed,” Rugby Australia chief executive Raelene Castle told reporters. “Israel had 48 hours to accept the sanction or have the matter sent to a code of conduct hearing. It was made clear to Israel in writing and verbally when I met with him last year that any social media posts or commentary that in any way were disrespectful to people because of their sexuality would result in disciplinary action.”
Cheika said that he had already formed the view that Folau could not be chosen for the Wallabies after his latest posting.
In 2017, Folau was warned by Rugby Australia after his use of social media to express opposition to gay marriage.
Chieka said Folau’s latest comments crossed a line.
“We’ve had the discussion about it after the last time about his right to believe and our support in that, but getting out in that disrespectful manner publicly is not what our team’s about,” he said. “We’ve had the discussion about it and that line’s then been crossed. When you play in the gold [Wallabies] jersey, we’re representing everyone in Australia. I felt that I needed to talk to him [Folau] about why, but I haven’t had that chance as yet.”
Asked if he would find it difficult to play next to Folau, Hooper, who looked deeply uncomfortable, reluctantly said he would.
“You take your friends warts and all, and your teammates,” Hooper said. “Like was said before, in this current state and being here and talking about this as a rugby player, it makes it hard, it makes it difficult. It’s hard being here.”
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB