Israel Folau is one of the world's top rugby players. At least he was, until Rugby Australia said on Thursday it intended to sack him — if only he'd answer the phone.

He is also a member of the Assemblies of God. He fears that sinners will burn in hell unless they accept the love of Jesus Christ.

Folau's Instagram post that got him into trouble this week addressed "drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists and idolaters" whom he'd like to help "save".

That's a sizeable chunk of the population right there — even if you just stopped at "drunks".

However, Rugby Australia has reprimanded Folau in the past for targeting the LGBTQI community in his social media posts, warning him that it was against the values the sport's governing body stood for and that he should cease and desist.

Sport is to be commended for striving to uphold the best values of a modern society, but what happens when those values clash — the human right of sexual orientation versus the human right to freedom of religion?

Does quoting from the Bible constitute hate speech? Was Folau inciting violence?

The Rugby Union Players Association said in a statement they neither endorsed nor condoned the content of Folau's social media post. ( AAP: Dan Himbrechts )

Clashing human rights

Former attorney-general Philip Ruddock last year chaired an expert panel that conducted the religious freedom review. It received more than 15,000 submissions.

Many times over the panel heard that "religious adherence in Australia is at a critical juncture".

"Most groups acknowledged the difficult conversations that need to occur when rights intersect, and highlighted the need to adopt a position of minimal harm."

When contacted by the ABC on Thursday evening, Mr Ruddock said he wasn't across the particular circumstances of the Folau case, "but obviously freedom of religion is of fundamental importance — it is a fundamental right under international treaties we are a party to".

"People want their views respected, but they need to keep in mind they must be balanced against the rights of others.

"These issues can be dealt with in ways that are appropriate, and respectful."

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LGBTQI journalist Kate Doak says most people are easily able to ignore instances of homophobia, transphobia or any other form of harassment online by individuals with only a handful of followers, but the same can't be said of somebody with Folau's fanbase.

"When such individuals aren't held accountable for their actions, some of their followers can start to believe that freedom of speech can also mean freedom from repercussions, which can reduce the level of civil discourse occurring across society," she said.

"While as both a lesbian and a person with a transgender background I personally find Israel's thoughts and actions towards people like me to be distressing, I can't help but feel sympathy towards him for holding such views."

A hard balance to find

When it comes to defending values sports need to answer "whose values?" It's a difficult question to answer when both sides have a right to express themselves.

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The Rugby Union Players' Association said in a statement they neither endorsed nor condoned the content of Folau's social media post.

"However it is imperative that the proper process is followed under the code of conduct," it said.

"We will continue to work with Israel, his representatives, NSW Waratahs and Rugby Australia to ensure this occurs."

Player unions globally have committed to stamping out homophobic behaviour, but they have also expressed concerns that athletes already have fewer individual rights than others in society.

Public v private life

There is little to no distinction between the "public face" of a sport and the "individual" who may want to express his or her own views or religious beliefs — as they are entitled to under the charter of Human Rights.

Where does Israel Folau the player give way to Israel Folau the individual?

His Instagram account doesn't describe him as a Wallaby or mention rugby at all. It says, "Israel Folau. Living for Jesus Christ. #TeamJesus."

He appears to be transitioning from footballer to preacher.

Folau's posts are vile and repugnant to many in the community, however they do represent the views and teachings of others who share his conservative Christian view.

On Thursday evening his post had 15,600 likes. By Friday morning there were another 10,000.

Are his posts inciting violence? Do they qualify as "hate speech"?

If the answer is yes, then what does it say about the future of others in the game who hold the same views or religious beliefs?

For too long those who identify as LGBTQI felt they had to be silent if they wanted to be accepted in sport — that is changing, and sports like rugby in Australia are helping create environments that are far more welcoming.

The danger is that rather than ending the silence, another group now faces the prospect of being silenced.

In its statement, Rugby Australia said rugby was a sport that "continuously works to unite people" and it wants "everyone to feel safe and welcome" with "no vilification based on race, gender, religion or sexuality".

There has been talk of Folau going back to the sport he came from — rugby league. But the chair of the Australian Rugby League Commission, Peter Beattie, ruled a line through that.

'Freedom of speech cuts both ways'

Inclusion and diversity comes with caveats, it seems.

David Rutherford is a special adviser to the Centre for Sport and Human Rights in New Zealand. He is a former Chief Human Rights Commissioner and head of NZ Rugby.

He says the way to think about human rights law is to consider it as "competition law for humans".

"Our PM, Jacinda Ardern, said Folau's speech is very damaging. It's damaging because we all know that the LGBTQI people, particularly young people, are vulnerable.

"In this particular case you are talking about a number of human rights, but both freedom of speech and freedom of religion are constrained by the fundamental human right of security.

"In NZ there's a huge amount of debate — freedom of speech cuts both ways — you are free to condemn what others say.

"It is complicated and you have the issue, how far do sports go?"

In 2017 World Rugby tried to ban players writing messages on wrist tape or wearing wrist bans that supported particular groups.

"World Rugby had to retract that within days because of the defence mounted by national rugby bodies and player unions around the world," Mr Rutherford said.

The first test case?

Terminating Folau's contract will not make this issue go away.

The Religious Freedom Review found that while there was a vast amount of public interest around these issues it was in no way matched by the number of formal complaints, "which shows that discrimination on the basis of religion is a little-used ground of complaint, as is discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and related attributes by religious bodies".

This may be sport's first legal test case pitting religious freedoms against the freedom of sexual orientation.

