Former Essendon CEO Andrew Thorburn, according to a Christian lobby organization, is a victim of a ‘frightening’ and ‘toxic’ wokeness in sports that attacks Christians but has different standards for Muslims.
Mr. Thorburn was forced to resign on Monday, only one day after becoming the helm of the Essendon AFL team, because he would not give up his position as chairman of a church.
Every Australian should find it scary that Mr. Thorburn was given this ultimatum, according to Wendy Francis, an ACL spokesman, who talked to Daily Mail Australia.
In this day and age, Ms. Francis said, “I don’t believe that any Australian should feel like they are outside and (afraid) of getting cancelled.”
Mr. Francis said that all football codes have a “poison” culture that targets Christians in particular, particularly because there didn’t seem to be as much outrage when Muslim WAFL player Haneen Zreika skipped the “pride” round earlier this year.
I believe there are two different standards, Ms. Francis said.
“I believe we can all agree that some people are more equal than others, and Christians definitely appear to be the ones who are being targeted.”
“Sport is intended to be a place where we can all be in this melting pot, independent of politics, and what we are witnessing is the exact reverse.”
As one Australian put it, “Sport is where you have to be so cautious of what you say, so mindful of what is acceptable and what is not acceptable.”
We see that some individuals lose their jobs because they refuse to use pronouns in their signatures; but, even if they keep their jobs, they undoubtedly feel under pressure to follow the new awakened agenda.
Ben Fordham, a Sydney radio talk show personality, has also entered the debate, charging Essendon of “vilifying” and “cancelling” Mr. Thorburn because of his Christian religion.
Fordham quoted Essendon as saying, “This is not about vilifying somebody for their own religious views.”
Oh, that is, I see.
“Exactly that is what occurred.”
He has been forced out the door due to his religious convictions.
And his cancellation was based on his Christianity.
Fordham said that through assisting families and generating money for charity, Mr. Thornburn’s church does a lot of “work for the community.”
Fordham’s points received support in the comments.
‘Explain it to me. This is just insane stuff. This established a standard. From this point on, any football club hiring a CEO should explicitly indicate that applicants of any faith are not required, according to one user.
The NSW MP Mark Latham joined the chorus of critics who have accused the AFL of bigotry, particularly against Christians.
“MEMO TO THE AFL: How can you reconcile the same religious convictions on “diversity” concerns with the vastly different treatment of Andrew Thorburn and Bachar Houli?”
“, Mr. Latham wrote.
“Let people manage and play football without regard to religion.”
For this year’s finals series, the AFL chose former Richmond player Houli as the Premiership Cup Ambassador.
The AFL often makes heavy use of the devout Muslim to highlight how varied the game is.
On Monday, Mr. Thorburn was introduced as Xavier Campbell’s replacement as the Bombers’ CEO.
However, his connections to a City on a Hill came to light shortly after his hiring, and by Tuesday evening, the struggling Bombers were looking for their third CEO in less than two months.
The board accepted Thorburn’s resignation after making it plain that he couldn’t maintain roles at both his church and his football club, according to a statement from Essendon president Dave Barham on Tuesday.
Barham said in a club statement, “We acted immediately to clarify the publicly espoused views on the organization’s official website, which are in direct contradiction to our values as a club, as soon as the comments relating to a 2013 sermon from a pastor at the City of the Hill church came to light this morning.”
“Essendon is devoted to offering a welcoming, diverse, and secure club where everyone is appreciated,” the club’s mission statement reads.
Thorburn expressed his “sadness” over the circumstances that prompted him to resign.
It became evident to him, he said in a statement, that “my personal Christian religion is neither accepted or permitted in the public square.” He then responded to his detractors.
“People should be able to live and work together, even with these differences, and always with respect,” he said. “People should be allowed to have diverse perspectives on difficult personal and moral issues.
“The key is behavior. A tolerant and varied society must value all of these things.