Israel Folau: enough is enough. Your words have impact. You are entitled to free speech but not to freedom from the consequences of this speech. Posting anti-LGBT+ rhetoric has an impact beyond your thousands of followers, and is not done from a place of love or compassion.

It’s time to call it out for what it really is: hate speech. Using religious reasoning as justification to disenfranchise a community under constant attack is not good enough.

Young people have lots of things to contend with growing up. For LGBT+ young people, negotiating their sexuality or gender identity can be troubling and a time of crisis for many.



Folau has clearly not learnt his lesson. In not sanctioning him the first time around, Rugby Australia, as the national governing body of the sport, effectively gave him a free pass to cause harm again. The fact he feels he can make further disparaging comments about LGBT+ people is quite audacious to say the least.

This is why discipline around vilification in sport is important. National sporting organisations – and clubs – need to take a strict stance and show that there is no place for discrimination in sport. Rugby Australia need to show strong leadership on this matter.



As the co-founder and director of a youth LGBT+ sport charity, Proud 2 Play, I have lots of stories of discrimination. Unfortunately, they are a common occurrence. These range from parents lodging complaints around the inclusion of young trans people participating in school competitions, to young LGBT+ people being bullied in community clubs, to an elite trans athlete being vilified by administrators in their sport.

Some stories stick with me. One is the story of a young trans person who told me they had made a countdown in their diary until the day that compulsory physical education was over. They were subjected to constant bullying and taunts because of their gender identity.

No young person should have to go through this. By not engaging young people in sport and exercise we deny them the important opportunity to experience the multitude of benefits that sport and exercise offer: a host of mental, physical, and social benefits.

LGBT+ athletes have been responsible for some of Australia’s top sporting achievements. Just look at Ian Thorpe’s contributions to Australian swimming, or Alex Blackwell’s record-breaking 251 international appearances for the Australian women’s cricket team. To those in positions of power within the sporting landscape: I urge you to get informed, show empathy, and use your platform to encourage more young people to play sport, not distance themselves from it.

As Jo Hirst, board member of advocacy group Parents of Gender Diverse Children, recently commented, “our kids want to play football, not just watch”. Facilitating the participation of young LGBT+ people, especially trans and gender diverse young people, is a priority for Proud 2 Play.

The Trans Pathways study recently identified that from a sample of 859 young trans people in Australia, almost one in two had attempted suicide, and three in four had been diagnosed with depression and anxiety. In contrast, research shows that those young trans people who are supported in their identities in turn show lower levels of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation.

Encouraging these young people to lead healthy and active lives is a public health priority. Often they are caught in the crossfire of political warfare, and we see the impact this has on these young people. Much of our work includes partnering with sporting organisations to provide education, and more welcoming and safe environments for LGBT+ young people. So far at Proud 2 Play, our team has provided over 400 young LGBT+ people with structured opportunities to participate in sport and exercise.

One of our success stories is partnering with Cricket Victoria to develop inclusive cricket programs as part of their ‘A Sport For All’ campaign. We launched our partnership and the Proud Cricket program last year with the support of VicHealth. Recently, we had a young trans boy who came to one of our inclusive cricket programs. He had travelled an hour and a half from the South Eastern suburbs in Victoria just to play. “I’ve always wanted to play cricket, I just never thought I could” he shared. He now volunteers with us and is flourishing in this role.

Cricket Victoria have a research report coming out next week on LGBT+ inclusion. Major findings from that research, which I led, show that homophobia is still prevalent and was witnessed by nearly 75% of LGBT participants and 50% of non-LGBT participants. Encouragingly though, findings also demonstrate that the cricket community is supportive of change and efforts to further enhance LGBT+ inclusion. Many respondents, when interviewed, spoke of the ability for cricket to play a leading role in LGBT inclusion in Australian sport.



In a rugby union context, it was encouraging to see some New Zealand Rugby players recently speak out against Folau’s views, and the subsequent release of a promotional video from the All Blacks and Black Ferns promoting LGBT+ diversity. This highlights the important role that allies can play, but also that tackling homophobia is not just a gay thing.

Our first call at Proud 2 Play was from a straight man, who was targeted with homophobic taunting over perceptions he was gay. He wanted advice on how to make his club a more inclusive environment and deal with the comments. There are many community clubs and volunteers who want to make positive changes in their local communities, and it is important we support them in their endeavours. The work of Jason Ball’s initiative, Pride Cup, is important in this context, especially in rural and regional areas of Australia.



All sporting organisations and athletes with a platform have the capacity to use it for positive social change. Comments like Folau’s have a negative impact on the health and wellbeing of young LGBT+ people across Australia. If you are involved in sport, consider instead how you can promote LGBT+ diversity, and invite the LGBT+ community in.

It is also important that nation-wide Australian sporting organisations support their rhetoric in diversity and inclusion policy documents with clear actions of support for the LGBT+ community. With IDAHOBIT (International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia) coming up next week, it’s a perfect opportunity for sporting codes to start the conversation and work towards ensuring they are providing a safe and inclusive environment for all Australians.

That way, we ensure that Australian sport really is a sport for all.