Union trumpets its commitment to inclusion and diversity and now is the time to marry action with slogans in dealing with England player
“You don’t want to mess around with that stuff as you open yourself up to ridicule. I just don’t want that stuff coming back to me, I’ll stay out of it.” It is now astonishing to think those are the words of Billy Vunipola explaining his self-imposed social media ban only a month ago. Whatever compelled him to end it, there is far more than ridicule now heading his way.
Quite what Vunipola thought he was achieving by offering his public support to Australia’s Israel Folau, who had claimed that “hell awaits” homosexuals, is not clear but one by one on Friday the statements of disapproval arrived. The Rugby Football Union came first, then Saracens, the players’ union, Premiership Rugby and Channel 4, which wasted no time in dropping Vunipola as one of the faces of its rugby coverage.
Written by Gerard Meagher
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/apr/13/rfu-must-tackle-billy-vunipola-homophobia under the title “RFU must tackle Billy Vunipola, and homophobia in the game, head on”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
