Israel Folau, the evangelical Christian Australian rugby star who was fired after social media posts that gays are going to end up in Hell, just got picked up by a new team.
CNN reports: “Disgraced former Australia rugby union star Israel Folau has signed to play rugby league for Tonga, according to reports. Folau’s contract with Rugby Australia was terminated in May after he wrote a homophobic social media post which broke code of conduct rules.”
News.com reports: “The star player’s return to rugby league was set to be with the Tonga national team in the Oceania Cup this year. Folau is unable to play for Tonga in the World Nines at Bankwest Stadium because the event is run by the NRL who have blocked a return to the code for him. The Oceania Cup is run by the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) who had reportedly accepted Folau’s availability.”
Said Folau in a statement: “I don’t want to bring any of my personal matters into this and I am grateful that the RLIF have endorsed my availability. What I will do now is focus on playing great rugby league and do my talking on the field.”
RLIF however, refutes Folau’s claims:
