CNN International reports:
Israel Folau, who was sacked by Rugby Australia following a homophobic social media post, is crowdfunding A$3 million (US$2.1 million) to pursue a legal battle against the governing body.
Folau, a devout Christian who has been capped 73 times by his country, was found guilty of a code of conduct breach and stripped of his contract last month for an Instagram post that said “hell awaits” gay people.
On Thursday, he published a GoFundMe page and a YouTube video asking members of the public to donate money as a contribution towards his legal battle with Rugby Australia.
The GoFundMe drive has raised $464,000 AUS at this writing. His YouTube money beg is below.
#EXCLUSIVE: Israel Folau refused chance to save career as new details emerge from code of conduct hearing https://t.co/8HyLlPJVdq pic.twitter.com/b6eTXp1L91
— Telegraph Sport (@telegraph_sport) May 9, 2019
MARGIN CALL: Should he fail to raise the $3m he’s seeking on GoFundMe, Israel Folau could always sell one of his eight Sydney properties worth $5.6m https://t.co/meefXMhKoC
— The Australian (@australian) June 21, 2019
For those considering a donation for @IzzyFolau on #GoFundMe consider this: he owns a $500k Lamborghini. He’s made millions from 3 sporting codes. Please help kids medical charities instead.
— BUZZ ROTHFIELD (@BuzzRothfield) June 21, 2019