Israel Folau (Merged threads)

[Tonka]

As a former litigation lawyer, I can tell you that claim would be nigh on impossible to get off the ground and the reserving all rights wording is as weak as my 3 year old's Ribena.

[GUBRATS]

4 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

Surely Hudgell is a classic ‘local businessman done good’ whose chosen to invest some of his millions into his beloved club, same as McManus, Moran, Guasch et al?

And respect to him for that , but seriously , he genuinely believes he might lose a sponsor due to another club signing a player ?

As pointed out earlier , all he has actually done is highlight it , again 

[hunsletgreenandgold]

12 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

I imagine it’s because he is concerned about potential loss of revenue for Super League (and therefore Hull KR) and - because he’s a very successful lawyer - a letter from him will carry more weight than from, say, Michael Carter. 

Because he’s a lawyer he’s throwing potential litigation around to create the impression there’s actually something he could sue for. He won’t because there isn’t. 

[Moove]

1 minute ago, GUBRATS said:

And respect to him for that , but seriously , he genuinely believes he might lose a sponsor due to another club signing a player ?

As pointed out earlier , all he has actually done is highlight it , again 

I think you underestimate the potential impact the signing could have on the likes of 'The Drain Company'. They'd soon see their business waste away.

In a slightly amusing twist, Hull KR are sponsored by a Christian education provider named after the now ex-Archbishop of York who was very publicly against gay marriage.

[Man of Kent]

7 minutes ago, hunsletgreenandgold said:

Because he’s a lawyer he’s throwing potential litigation around to create the impression there’s actually something he could sue for. He won’t because there isn’t. 

That’s a more credible theory than doing it for his own commercial benefit.

There isn’t anything to sue for yet but I do worry about the potential for this to affect revenue. I wouldn’t be shocked if action is taken against Catalans should there be a demonstrable hit related to the Folau signing.

[DoubleD]

There really are some odious owners of clubs in our game 

[burnleywelsh]

38 minutes ago, Moove said:

 

In a slightly amusing twist, Hull KR are sponsored by a Christian education provider named after the now ex-Archbishop of York who was very publicly against gay marriage.

I wonder if Hudgell is actually aware of one of his sponsors views. Not too far away from Folau’s opinion.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9045796/Dont-legalise-gay-marriage-Archbishop-of-York-Dr-John-Sentamu-warns-David-Cameron.html

 

[TBone]

Well, like it or not, Mr Folau’s actions in Aus led directly to a major ARU sponsor threatening to pull the plug. The RFL/SLE don’t have many major sponsors and little cash so they can’t really afford to lose any existing or potential sponsors. As regards other player’s indiscretions, none have the same global profile as Folau, therefore less likely to get sponsors agitated.

I would imagine it would be relatively easy to prove cause and loss if a major sponsor pulls out. The hard part will be pinning  liability on Catalan as the RFL/SLE have already said that their are no current rules that require any club to seek permission before signing a player. As long as there are no legal/immigration problems and no extant bans the player can be registered.

[absentee thoughtlord]

I honestly think if Castleford were sponsored by Fred West Builders there would be less fuss than this.

[hunsletgreenandgold]

37 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

That’s a more credible theory than doing it for his own commercial benefit.

There isn’t anything to sue for yet but I do worry about the potential for this to affect revenue. I wouldn’t be shocked if action is taken against Catalans should there be a demonstrable hit related to the Folau signing.

That will be near on impossible to prove in a litigation battle. Sponsors walking away at clubs unrelated to Catalans will not be deemed suitable grounds and in fact they themselves should be the ones that are facing legal action. None of this will happen of course - just a man who believes in his own self importance and thinks everybody needs to hear his 2 pennies worth....and I’m not talking about Folau. 

[TBone]

Just now, hunsletgreenandgold said:

That will be near on impossible to prove in a litigation battle. Sponsors walking away at clubs unrelated to Catalans will not be deemed suitable grounds and in fact they themselves should be the ones that are facing legal action. None of this will happen of course - just a man who believes in his own self importance and thinks everybody needs to hear his 2 pennies worth....and I’m not talking about Folau. 

Loss might not be from a club’s sponsor - what about if BetFred pulled the plug? or mybe SLE were about to sign with Quantas?

[GUBRATS]

1 minute ago, TBone said:

Loss might not be from a club’s sponsor - what about if BetFred pulled the plug? or mybe SLE were about to sign with Quantas?

What if ? 

If any sponsors did pull out , you could argue it's because of Mr Hudgell making it an issue , this was all over and done with , now he's dragged it back up , stupid 

[TIWIT]

Folau speaks from a sincerely believed belief. However ignorant it seems to most of us that is what free speech is all about. FWIW, probably half of Amerika shares his view. It would not be such a big deal there.

As a lawyer Hudgell should be defending Folau's right to spout his ignorance in public. His own statements are just plain stupid and he should have made his objections known to Super League, his fellow SL owners and Catalans in particular with a simple phone call. And who knows, maybe he did and Catalans told him to mind his own business and that's why he went public now.

[RigbyLuger]

27 minutes ago, burnleywelsh said:

I wonder if Hudgell is actually aware of one of his sponsors views. Not too far away from Folau’s opinion.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9045796/Dont-legalise-gay-marriage-Archbishop-of-York-Dr-John-Sentamu-warns-David-Cameron.html

 

You can't make this stuff up.

[RigbyLuger]

Duplicate

[hunsletgreenandgold]

24 minutes ago, TBone said:

Loss might not be from a club’s sponsor - what about if BetFred pulled the plug? or mybe SLE were about to sign with Quantas?

Same would apply - the clubs should in that case be focusing their litigation towards Betfred. The difference with the ARU situation was it was pretty clear (rightly or wrongly) Quantas and possibly others leaned on them to take decisive action against Folau. There’s no evidence of that here so any retrospective action would be a very weak position to be starting from legally. 

[TBone]

1 minute ago, TIWIT said:

Folau speaks from a sincerely believed belief. However ignorant it seems to most of us that is what free speech is all about. FWIW, probably half of Amerika shares his view. It would not be such a big deal there.

As a lawyer Hudgell should be defending Folau's right to spout his ignorance in public. His own statements are just plain stupid and he should have made his objections known to Super League, his fellow SL owners and Catalans in particular with a simple phone call. And who knows, maybe he did and Catalans told him to mind his own business and that's why he went public now.

This isn’t about the rights or wrongs of Folau’s statements, its all about brands. At the moment, Folau’s brand isn’t exactly the flavour of the month. And major global companies have made statements distancing themselves as they don’t want their brand value diluted by association.

In answer to Gubrats. You say it was all done with, was it? How do you know what may/not be going on privately. I have no idea which, if any, existing or prospective sponsors may/not have raised the issue privately with the RFL/SLE or one or more of the other SL Clubs. Maybe Mr Hudgell does?. Or he may think that its not too late to get Catalan to reconsider so is putting a shot across their bows so to speak?

[Adelaide Tiger]

........ Shaun Kenny-Dowall.  I rest my case M’lud.

[TIWIT]

14 minutes ago, TBone said:

... I have no idea which, if any, existing or prospective sponsors may/not have raised the issue privately with the RFL/SLE or one or more of the other SL Clubs. Maybe Mr Hudgell does?. Or he may think that its not too late to get Catalan to reconsider so is putting a shot across their bows so to speak?

If a competitor made such blatant public threats against you would you back down?

[Moove]

1 hour ago, burnleywelsh said:

I wonder if Hudgell is actually aware of one of his sponsors views. Not too far away from Folau’s opinion.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9045796/Dont-legalise-gay-marriage-Archbishop-of-York-Dr-John-Sentamu-warns-David-Cameron.html

 

Just for clarity (before anyone gets into trouble), he's not technically the sponsor. The academy (the actual sponsor) is though funded by the Diocese of York, of which he is the head (thought he'd finished now but apparently not).

Still pretty funny.

Luckily they're not plastered on the back of one of their shirts. Oh... oops... Taxi for Hudgell...

[Omott91]

Hull KR are quickly becoming my favoured team to suffer relegation.

[The Great Dane]

1 hour ago, TIWIT said:

olau speaks from a sincerely believed belief. However ignorant it seems to most of us that is what free speech is all about. FWIW, probably half of Amerika shares his view. It would not be such a big deal there.

It's not just half of America that would agree with Falou...

The Polynesian cultures (and to a slightly lesser extent Melanesian) are extremely religious. Almost all of them are Mormon, Jehovah's  Witness, or one of the other more wacky sects, and the vast majority of them are fervent believers.

What I'm saying is that it's got to be upward of 80% of all Polynesian Rugby (plural) players that would agree with, or hold very similar views to Falou's, and simply aren't expressing those views for fear of retribution. On top of that there's a much smaller group of Muslims of the Anthony Mundine variety, which includes SBW BTW, who are just as backward if not more so on most issues.

The point I'm getting at is that continually attacking Falou for his views will ostracize the others that agree with him to an extent, and if we continue attacking when really Falou and others like him have done nothing wrong, then eventually that will have major consequences not only for both sports but for society as a whole as the people that agree with Falou's position will eventually push back against those that are trying to stop them from being able to simply express those belief's.

[TIWIT]

33 minutes ago, The Great Dane said:

It's not just half of America that would agree with Falou...

The Polynesian cultures (and to a slightly lesser extent Melanesian) are extremely religious. Almost all of them are Mormon, Jehovah's  Witness, or one of the other more wacky sects, and the vast majority of them are fervent believers.

What I'm saying is that it's got to be upward of 80% of all Polynesian Rugby (plural) players that would agree with, or hold very similar views to Falou's, and simply aren't expressing those views for fear of retribution. On top of that there's a much smaller group of Muslims of the Anthony Mundine variety, which includes SBW BTW, who are just as backward if not more so on most issues.

The point I'm getting at is that continually attacking Falou for his views will ostracize the others that agree with him to an extent, and if we continue attacking when really Falou and others like him have done nothing wrong, then eventually that will have major consequences not only for both sports but for society as a whole as the people that agree with Falou's position will eventually push back against those that are trying to stop them from being able to simply express those belief's.

Your point being we should all just dicuss sports, not religion or politics.

I'm fine with that

 

[ojx]

Catalans have really shot themselves (and the sport) in the foot on this one.  Especially when they have no TV deal, they are not in the strongest position to pull a stunt like this.

[nadera78]

If I was being unkind I might say of Neil Hudgell's behaviour...'ambulance chaser looks for a payout'.

This whole situation is becoming ridiculous, and it's people like Hudgell driving it forward. Folau's been signed, some people don't like it, some support it, most I would guess are ambivalent. Time to let it go and play some rugby.