Sacked Wallabies star Israel Folau is appealing for $3 million in donations as he pursues an unfair dismissal claim against Rugby Australia.
Folau, who is believed to have earned upwards of $10 million over his footballing career across three codes, has set up a GoFundMe page in recent days to help fund his legal battle against Rugby Australia..
At the time of writing, the campaign had received more than $79,000 in donations less than a day after initially being posted.
Speaking to Alan Jones on Sydney radio on Friday morning, the 30-year-old reiterated his commitment to his beliefs, saying that it and his identity were one in the same.
"My faith and what I believe in that is based on the bible is the most important thing to me," he said.
"It defines me as a person and my identity is founded in what's written in what I call the word of God.
"Everything I do and everything I live by is based on the principles of what is written in that book."
Folau is taking Rugby Australia to the Fair Work Commission with a conciliation to begin on June 28 and he is seeking up to $10 million of damages in the process.
The former fullback been criticised for seemingly seeking money out of the process despite comments he made in 2018 that he would peacefully walk away from rugby if his actions began to harm the game.
"My principle and my faith is what's driving me from the get go and my faith is what defines me as a person, that's who I am, my identity is founded in my faith," he said.
"That's the whole reason I'm wanting to and up and fight h this.
"The goal for me is to stand up and stand up fro the word of God, which is so important to me, it means more to me than what I have in this life.
I have the fight of my life on my hands. If you can and choose to donate, thank you.https://t.co/Tk1gZaEphB pic.twitter.com/qBWGG9fGOQ
— Israel Folau (@IzzyFolau) June 20, 2019
Folau admitted in the interview that Castle had told him in 2018, after he posted a different controversial social media comment, that he was allowed to share his religious beliefs but just do it in a more "respectful" way.
"After the initial incident that happened last year, I had a meeting with Raelene and we spoke about the potential effect it can have within the game," he said.
"She said I was still able to share my religious beliefs but just do it in a more respectful way."
The Test star did not expand on his actions after that point or the thought process that led him to post the April 10 Instagram image that ultimately led to his sacking.
