Society/Culture Andrew Thorburn - Controversial appointment as Essendon CEO. Broader discussion not for the AFL board..

Remove this Banner Ad

Log in to remove this ad.

Aug 6, 2021
5,671
10,237
AFL Club
Adelaide
Maybe. Or maybe you want to hide behind 'false equivalence' to discriminate against religion when it suits you?

Quite the bigoted world view some might say.

Rance was almost a priest while being the goat and his religious group is very dodgy. Would you have banned him in his prime?

Thornburn is chairman of the board of a church which publicly preaches that homosexuality is a sin. Essendon is a football club which seeks to be inclusive of people regardless of sexuality, and seeks to instil this value in the football community. Because of those opposing values and aims, he could not perform is role as chairman of his church, and CEO of Essendon simultaneously.

If you recall, during the Israel Folau saga, Matt Kennedy, a Christian, got into trouble for liking the post. He was asked to remove his like, he was not sacked, not asked to leave his church or change his beliefs.

If Rance was preaching on weekends that gays go to hell while he was playing then there probably would have been an issue with the code of conduct or something like that, but he wasn’t, hence he wasn’t sacked. Because despite what the Sky News fear mongerers tell you you are actually free to have your own personal religious beliefs.

There’s no Anti-Christian agenda. There would be 100s of Christian people working in the AFL, and some of them, if not a lot probably hold the same views on homesexuality.

Ironic much

How so?

It is illegal to not hire women, yet many churches only hire men as pastors, and cite verses in the Bible as their justification.

In no other role would that be acceptable, religion is used as an excuse for bigotry.

Thorburn was not discriminated against for his religion, he was discriminated against because of his actions. The fact that his actions were religiously motivated does not excuse them.
 

mxett

Brownlow Medallist
Jul 1, 2007
25,769
11,926
Melbourne
AFL Club
Essendon
Love- torturing himself to die for the sins of man he created because a talking snake convinced a rib woman to eat an apple in a garden that never existed.
Mercy-killed everyone (except one family, whom presumably repopulated the planet via incest)on the planet because we disappointed him because of the way he made us.
Compassion-see above👍
Sounds legit, it almost like you just make s**t up to suit your gods needs🧐
one example doesnt discount all behaviour. I never said god's behaviour was limited to these 3
 

mxett

Brownlow Medallist
Jul 1, 2007
25,769
11,926
Melbourne
AFL Club
Essendon
Why are you trying to minimise and make excuses for pedophiles?
Im not at all. Im saying these behaviours occur throughout society, especially where there is opportunity. Teachers, swimming coaches, scout leaders, priests, family situations. They have all been implicated in pedophilia. This is not a religion issue. In fact it's completely counter to religious moral standards
 

mxett

Brownlow Medallist
Jul 1, 2007
25,769
11,926
Melbourne
AFL Club
Essendon
It still annoys me that comfortably into the twentieth century citing religion gives you an excuse for bigotry. It feels like a massive cop out.
it's a religious moral standard for those practicing the religion. It is also an issue between the individual and a deity they propose to follow. If it extends beyond this it isnt appropriate
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Aug 1, 2006
26,536
26,929
Melbourne
AFL Club
Richmond
How so?

It is illegal to not hire women, yet many churches only hire men as pastors, and cite verses in the Bible as their justification.

In no other role would that be acceptable, religion is used as an excuse for bigotry.

Thorburn was not discriminated against for his religion, he was discriminated against because of his actions. The fact that his actions were religiously motivated does not excuse them.

Well to be fair "diversity" is used as an excuse to concentrate hiring energies in the corporate world on basically anything that's not a white straight male.
 
Aug 6, 2021
5,671
10,237
AFL Club
Adelaide
Well to be fair "diversity" is used as an excuse to concentrate hiring energies in the corporate world on basically anything that's not a white straight male.

That’s an entirely different argument to be having and I’m sure there’s threads for it.

But surely you can see the very clear difference between a hiring policy (whether it’s right or wrong), that aims to give men and women equal opportunity in the workplace, versus a hiring policy that completely eliminates the policy of one gender ever fulfilling the role?
 

Evolved1

Cancelled
10k Posts
Jun 14, 2013
13,076
15,680
AFL Club
Essendon
That’s an entirely different argument to be having and I’m sure there’s threads for it.

But surely you can see the very clear difference between a hiring policy (whether it’s right or wrong), that aims to give men and women equal opportunity in the workplace, versus a hiring policy that completely eliminates the policy of one gender ever fulfilling the role?
I'm of the view religious organisations should be able to discriminate in their own employment. Otherwise you end up with the situation whereby atheists or Muslims could apply to teach at Christian schools that have Christian values. That's why I have no problem with churches having a policy against employing female pastors. There are bible passages to justify that position, rightly or wrongly, and churches that allow female pastors if someone feels inclined to go down that path.

That gives options for religious values to be accepted within religious organisations.

In the secular world, religion should take second place. The right decision was made in respect to Thorburn, and I truly wish the AFLW/Giants didn't compromise their values with Haneen. Both are homophobic bigots who would be happier being employed by religious organisations.
 
Aug 1, 2006
26,536
26,929
Melbourne
AFL Club
Richmond
That’s an entirely different argument to be having and I’m sure there’s threads for it.

But surely you can see the very clear difference between a hiring policy (whether it’s right or wrong), that aims to give men and women equal opportunity in the workplace, versus a hiring policy that completely eliminates the policy of one gender ever fulfilling the role?

Yeah sure I can, but I guess comparing a corporate hiring policy to a religious leader hiring policy is not quite apples and apples.
 

Marcel Proust

"Oohh WADA ooga booga" {Jul 11 2013}
Sep 6, 2018
29,608
38,560
#BigBigSound
AFL Club
Richmond
Thornburn is chairman of the board of a church which publicly preaches that homosexuality is a sin. Essendon is a football club which seeks to be inclusive of people regardless of sexuality, and seeks to instil this value in the football community. Because of those opposing values and aims, he could not perform is role as chairman of his church, and CEO of Essendon simultaneously.

If you recall, during the Israel Folau saga, Matt Kennedy, a Christian, got into trouble for liking the post. He was asked to remove his like, he was not sacked, not asked to leave his church or change his beliefs.

If Rance was preaching on weekends that gays go to hell while he was playing then there probably would have been an issue with the code of conduct or something like that, but he wasn’t, hence he wasn’t sacked. Because despite what the Sky News fear mongerers tell you you are actually free to have your own personal religious beliefs.

There’s no Anti-Christian agenda. There would be 100s of Christian people working in the AFL, and some of them, if not a lot probably hold the same views on homesexuality.



How so?

It is illegal to not hire women, yet many churches only hire men as pastors, and cite verses in the Bible as their justification.

In no other role would that be acceptable, religion is used as an excuse for bigotry.

Thorburn was not discriminated against for his religion, he was discriminated against because of his actions. The fact that his actions were religiously motivated does not excuse them.

Wasn't Folau given millions as compo for being sacked due to his religious views? [From a skint NRL]

Will Essendon get sued? Unlikely but it's be interesting to see how the law views it.

Perhaps you have very little idea what gets said at alex Rance place of worship
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Aug 3, 2020
18,092
29,926
AFL Club
Collingwood
Other Teams
Boston Celtics, Liverpool
I've got some idea. OP perhaps doesn't fit the technical definition but it's curious how far we allow discrimination against religion going forward.
What is wrong with "discriminating" against an ideology? No set of ideas are sacrosanct just because they have believe themselves to be.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Back