Israel Folau decision from St George Illawarra Dragons slammed by Ian Roberts

Evidently new Dragons coach Anthony Griffin thought it was a great idea as part of the weird revolution happening at the embattled joint-venture.

First, he signed the arthritic Jack Bird from the Broncos. Then two-time player of the year Cameron McInnes was squeezed out. Veteran hooker Andrew McCullough, 31, is still on the radar, despite coming off a serious hamstring injury.

Now comes news of Folau, 31, who has barely played any football in two years.

Just what type of football team Griffin is trying to build is anyone’s guess but from afar it already looks like one that’s old or prone to injuries.

The Folau deal is being put together by veteran player agent Wayne Beavis, who also manages Griffin. The so-called football whisperer, Joe Wehbe, isn’t involved after he and Beavis fell out last year.

After the story about the Dragons’ interest in Folau broke, Manly and the Wests Tigers predictably came knocking.

But Folau’s first match in the NRL since 2010 is a long way off.

The NRL is treading very carefully with its public statements because it wants to afford Folau those big fancy legal terms such as “due process” and “natural justice”.

The reality is there’s a distinct lack of appetite for Folau to return to the NRL just as there was 18 months ago when he settled out of court with Rugby Australia after posting a series of homophobic remarks on social media.

Indeed, the NRL was bemused at the tone of media reports on Wednesday morning suggesting his return is a fait accompli. It’s far from it. Head office feels it’s on solid legal ground when it comes to deciding who should or shouldn’t play in its competition.

The ARL Commission will discuss the matter when it meets on Thursday but can’t make a call until the Dragons lodge a contract. The NRL wants to see more than that, including Folau’s contract with RA and Catalans, the Super League side that controversially threw him a lifeline last year.

Folau has told Dragons powerbrokers he has no intention of sermonising his views about homosexuality publicly any more, just as he promised with Catalans, although he said the same thing to Raelene Castle and look how well that turned out.

Then the RA chief executive, Castle made Folau the highest-paid player in rugby and he then proceeded to spark the shitstorm Roberts is talking about.

Clauses limiting Folau’s “the-gays-will-burn-in-hell” rhetoric are all well and good, but he’s shown before his disregard for contracts and verbal promises.

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There’s also nothing to suggest Folau has changed his hurtful views about the LGBT community.

As one NRL coach pointed out to this column, it’s similar to the situation concerning bad boy Todd Carney. Time away means little. It’s the potential risk to the game that matters, which makes you wonder why the Dragons would entertain Folau in the first place.

A case can be made for signing Folau to help the football team, although it’s not particularly strong.

He’s a very dominant right-side player, or at least was, so his preferred position would be right centre.

But the Dragons already have a right centre in Zac Lomax, who was in Brad Fittler’s NSW squad last November.

If Folau doesn’t play on the right, he could play on the left and have less impact. Or he could play at fullback, forcing Matt Dufty out of position yet again.

People don’t understand the effects of homophobia and the consequences. People in the LGBTIQ community know it because it’s our reality.

Ian Roberts

There’s no disputing Folau’s natural ability, especially in the air, and he was among the best players in the Super League when he first trotted out for Catalans last year.

Then the competition was grounded because of COVID-19 and, when it resumed, he was a shadow of his former self. The NRL has also changed significantly in the past two years. Just ask Sonny Bill Williams.

Roberts sees a bigger picture.

The first openly gay footballer in the world after coming out in 1995, Roberts met with NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo to express his concerns.

He was also angry that some commentators had used him as evidence that the game is for all.

“I read something today about snowflakes shutting up and that my coming out in 1995 was some wonderful, joyful experience and showed the game lets everyone in,” he said. “I had to laugh. What an ignorant thing to write. Because it wasn’t that at all.”

For the past five years, Roberts has been front and centre of the NRL’s inclusion program, working directly with clubs and young players.

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“We have these scenarios around homophobia, misogyny, drugs in sport, use of social media,” he said. “It’s a safe place for players to get things wrong because we can talk about it.”

The reality is Roberts was, for years, forgotten by the game. The first step in his reintroduction was his appearance on the NRL float at Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

But the real catalyst was Tyrone Unsworth, who in 2016 took his own life after years of bullying about his sexuality. Tyrone was 13 years old.

For all the silly talk about inclusiveness meaning Folau should be included despite his views on the LGBT community, there’s a reality of homophobia that Roberts is only too familiar with.

“You know that shitstorm I was talking about? That shitstorm claims lives,” he said. “People don’t understand the effects of homophobia and the consequences. People in the LGBTIQ community know it because it’s our reality. We’ve all lost friends to suicide. For any kid out of the suburbs now dealing with sexuality in a negative way, and self-harm is a reality, this shitstorm is deadly.”

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