Andrew Johnsen: Athletes shouldn't just stick to sports

Israel Folau's anti-gay remarks have shown the need for athletes to be wary about what they say. Photo / Photosport.nz

The Israel Folau saga has confirmed a thought process that many people in New Zealand share - athletes should stick to sports.

Folau's anti-gay comments and subsequent non-apology have dominated headlines, Facebook posts and Twitter feeds for the past week.

All Black halfbacks TJ Perenara and Brad Weber took Folau to task for his views and rightly so, breaking rank from a team that has traditionally steered clear of wading into societal issues.

It's a theme prevalent across the world, particularly in America where the likes of former NFL star Colin Kaepernick and the NBA's best player LeBron James have been publically vilified for standing up for issues bigger than sport.

New Zealanders like to think they're fairly progressive but a quick glance at any comments section with an article about Folau, Weber or Perenara screams the opposite for a substantial group.

There is a group of people that lauded Folau's homophobic Instagram comments and his self-gratifying "I'm a sinner too" column on Player's Voice before unironically calling out Perenara and Weber for disagreeing with him publically.

When you scroll through the comments section of any story relating to Folau's comments, there is an overwhelming number supporting his right to say what he wants.

This is reversed when the likes of Perenara and Weber criticise Folau.

"It's time you [Perenara] and Weber are kicked [out] of rugby. You both are nothing but loud mouthed publicity-seeking no hopers."

This is just one of countless comments attacking Perenara and Weber for criticising Folau's poor use of his platform.

While Folau used the buffer of the Bible, online defenders picketed the idea of freedom of speech. Their idea of freedom of speech is grossly misconstrued.

People should be encouraged to express their viewpoints, and there's nothing wrong with Folau extolling the views of Christianity, but there is a difference between saying what you want and hate speech.

Perenara and Weber weren't calling out Folau for expressing his opinion. They were calling him out for expressing that particular view.

But commenters saw their opinions as attacking the idea of free speech.

The AM Show's Duncan Garner gave a great example of that section of online warriors.

When Taika Waititi called out New Zealand for being "racist as f***", Garner said he was "treasonous" for attacking his own country in that manner.

But when Folau said gay people will go to hell if they failed to repent, Garner defended him, saying "the speech police are winning the war".

What Garner did there was simultaneously defend an example of hate speech and attack someone who highlighted an area where New Zealand needs to improve.

The supposed "speech police" aren't trying to rid people of their right to an opinion. Some take it too far, which isn't okay, but for the most part they want to see the world grow.

And when someone with the influence of Folau, arguably the leading Pasifika sporting star, says things that alienate a maligned minority group, we need people of similar influence like Perenara and Weber to call them out.