Wallabies and Waratahs star Israel Folau has addressed the recent controversy over his comments on social media, in a piece for sports website, PlayersVoice.
Folau posted a piece on the website on Monday night, explaining his perspective on the events that have unfolded since he replied to a question on Instagram asking what God's plan for gay people was with, 'HELL...unless they repent their sins and turn to God."
The piece, titled 'I'm a Sinnner too' was the first time Folau had directly addressed the controversy since the initial comment a fortnight ago.
"I have sinned many times in my life. I take responsibility for those sins and ask for forgiveness through repentance daily," he wrote.
"I understand a lot of people won’t agree with some of the things I’m about to write.
"That’s absolutely fine. In life, you are allowed to agree to disagree.
"But I would like to explain to you what I believe in, how I arrived at these beliefs and why I will not compromise my faith in Jesus Christ, which is the cornerstone of every single thing in my life.
"I hope this will provide some context to the discussion that started with my reply to a question asked of me on Instagram two weeks ago."
Sharing the article, Folau said he hoped it would 'provide some context' about his views.
"I do not know the person who asked the question, but that didn’t matter," he wrote.
"I believed he was looking for guidance and I answered him honestly and from the heart. I know a lot of people will find that difficult to understand, but I believe the Bible is the truth and sometimes the truth can be difficult to hear.
"I think of it this way: you see someone who is about to walk into a hole and have the chance to save him.
"He might be determined to maintain his course and doesn’t want to hear what you have to say. But if you don’t tell him the truth, as unpopular as it might be, he is going to fall into that hole.
"What do you do?"
Folau also addressed the meeting he had with Rugby Australia CEO Raelene Castle and Waratahs CEO Andrew Hore last week, including addressing his future in the sport, revealing he offered to walk away from the sport if his views were too far apart from the organisations.
"That aside, I hope Raelene and Andrew appreciate my position, even if it differs with theirs," he said.
"I love rugby union. It has allowed me to travel all over the world and meet some fascinating people along the way.
"It is one of the best things about the game in my opinion.
"I do not want to bring hurt to the game and want as many people playing it as possible, so when I spoke to Raelene about walking away, it was to help the game, not harm it, in the event we couldn’t come to an understanding.
"I used to believe I was defined by my actions on the footy field, but I see now that’s not true."
