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Haskell distances himself from Billy Vunipola's views on religion
James Haskell has taken to Twitter to outline how he doesn’t agree with Billy Vunipola and his views on religion after the England No8 was outspoken on the topic on a midweek podcast.
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Appearing as a guest on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby which Haskell presents along with Mike Tindall and Alex Payne, Vunipola was asked about the infamous Israel Folau saga, extreme religion and homophobic views that resulted in the termination of his Rugby Australia contract in 2019.
The Saracens back row said he “wouldn’t go about it the same way”, saying “it’d be more of a conversation” if it were to happen again and that he would “talk to whoever had any questions”.
Vunipola also addressed his decision not to take a knee ahead of Saracens fixture against Bristol last weekend in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. He said: “What I saw in terms of that movement was not aligned with what I believe in. They were burning churches and Bibles. I can’t support that. Even though I am a person of colour, I’m still more a person of, I guess, Jesus.”
Upon sharing this clip on social media, Haskell shared a disclaimer distancing himself from some of Vunipola’s views.
BEING 100% CLEAR I DO NOT AGREE WITH BILLYS VIEWS ON RELIGION. I AM ON RECORD DISAGREEING WITH HIM AND FOLAU. MY BROTHER
IS GAY, I FIGHT FOR ANTI RACISM,
ANTI HOMOPHOBIA, ANTI OPPRESSION. I THOUGHT I SHOULD
MAKE THAT CLEAR FOR THE….. WELL YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE?????????— James Haskell (@jameshaskell) August 21, 2020
The former England, Wasps and Northampton Saints flanker also said that his former teammate was “one of my favourite people on earth”, which is an insight into how two people may not necessarily see eye to eye on all topics but can still get along.
Haskell has spoken frequently about the polarising nature of social media, and only last weekend spoke to RugbyPass about how “there are certain sections of the sports fans who take great pride in slagging players off”. This perhaps explains why he felt the need to clarify his position following the podcast.
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Throughout his career, Haskell sought to champion the inclusivity of minorities in rugby and continues to do so in retirement. He also touched upon this last week, saying: “The BLM party and extreme political views they have, I’m not on board.
“But the simple fact for a long time we have neglected a whole section of the world is abundantly clear. I do a lot of work with homophobia and transgender and everything else, those guys are asking for equality.”
"Many Northampton fans didn’t want me & were very outspoken. They assumed I was on mega wedge, not the academy contract that I essentially signed"@jameshaskell on hateful fan sites, I'm a Celebrity edits screwing him; MMA, BLM & more w/@heagneyl ???https://t.co/9SsEeGT790
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 16, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
As long as New Zealand youth are involved in sport they are passionate for, and are well supported, it’s all good. I love league as well as rugby. NRL clubs have long since scouted the First 15 competitions, the NH and Japan scout super rugby and NPC. It’s a miracle there’s any players left for the all blacks to pick from.
4 Go to commentsI'm a Bok fan, so I don't say this lightly, but he is one of my all time favourite players. I am really going to miss watching him play. Thanks for many great memories. You are a true legend of the game.
3 Go to commentsBest way to deal with all of this is to play another game.
122 Go to commentsIt’s 12-15 games Luke. Ringrose has barely played in 2024 and Henshaw and Keenan have also been out for spells in the same time period. There are always injuries and for younger players to play with the likes of Barrett will be great for them. It’s just looking for negatives where there are none.
5 Go to commentsAndy Goode pushing his own agenda with very dubious considerations on refereeing performances. Luke Pearce speaking a bit of French doesn’t make him a good and adequate referee for the Champions Cup final; his latest refereeing performance in particular was not so great.
4 Go to commentsJordie knows that he has to earn the right to put on the jersey, whatever that jersey might be.
5 Go to commentsThe best outside centre in the world at one point. He will be greatly missed.
3 Go to commentsYip his great for the big moments when needed as a safa really enjoy watching him
4 Go to commentsOne that will start to come up from now on is penalties for back pushes during kick chase scrambles. Very difficult to detect. In Croke Park if you replay the Hendy NH try, you will see Furbank push Porter in the back, who collides with Larmour knocking the ball across into Hendy’s path to dot down. A more significant example was in the RWC QTR final where Arendse pushes Fickou into two other French players for the ball to spill into Arendse’s path for him to gather and run in to score SAs first try. Not cheating if you are not caught and very difficult to spot but with kicking becoming so critical I feel its an area that will referreeed/TMO-ed more.
4 Go to commentsWhat a pathetic little twit Andy Goode is, as if we care what he thinks…..😂
122 Go to commentsFoxy has been a wonderful player for the Scarlets and Wales.
3 Go to commentsNika the Georgian is the best referee in the world at the moment. Luckily we will be spared the shite SH refs and Barnes will hopefully remain retired given how shite and embarrassing he was at the RWC.
4 Go to commentsThis is the most exciting game of the summer imo, as we really won’t know in advance how both teams are going to play. - Will Robertson just reproduce his Crusaders tactics from last year, or will there be a conscious effort to borrow from the Hurricanes and Blues, and from the aspects of the ABs world cup strategy that worked well? - England under Borthwick have put in some good performances playing attacking rugby, and some good performances playing kick-oriented defensive rugby. Will Borthwick try to merge them together into a single all-court game, or will he continue switching between different approaches depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition?
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
9 Go to commentsFinals are always tense affairs for the players so I do not expect this to be a spectacle of running rugby unfortunately.
4 Go to commentsBulls***': Ex-England international calls out Eben Etzebeth… Not to his face but from very far away… after he’d left. Checked to make sure he wasn’t in the building.
122 Go to commentsHopefully this will mean a new Auckland league team to support in the west. Big Warriors fan but it’s very, very stale on that front and I’d like the option of another team if it was to watch league again. League needs to step up BIG time if its to get anywhere, another AK team and something from the capitol or south is a must for the game.
4 Go to commentsGood, deep interview, nice job Frankie!
1 Go to commentsNRL players don’t have anywhere near the number of Tests. Some people would be happy having Rest Homes full if 40 yo ex-players walking, or hobbling more like it, into walls. It’s just a game!
4 Go to comments