James Faulkner’s Gay Joke Sparks Social Media Furore

James Faulkner’s Gay Joke Sparks Social Media Furore

Aussie cricketer James Faulkner has sparked a social media furor over his “misinterpreted” social media post about being in a gay relationship.

On Monday night, Faulkner posted an image on Twitter, which seemingly revealed he had been in a “five-year relationship” with his “boyfriend”. He later added “best mates” in brackets to the same photo he uploaded on Instagram.

Faulkner’s post was picked up by media sites around the world who celebrated the announcement of Australia’s first professional male gay cricketer.

However, Cricket Australia later clarified the post had been “misinterpreted”, confirming the man pictured with Faulkner was his business partner.

Social media users were up in arms over the post, saying the joke was in poor taste, especially considering the wider positive impact such an announcement would have had in the sporting industry and beyond.

 

Faulkner later uploaded another post on Instagram, confirming Cricket Australia’s clarification of the post, writing: “I am not gay, however, it has been fantastic to see support from and for the LGBT community”.

Faulkner is not the first Australian sporting star to come under fire for trivialising gay relationships.

Wallabies player Israel Folau experienced severe social media backlash following a homophobic social media post he uploaded to Instagram and is currently fighting for his $4 million deal after Rugby Australia issued a termination notice following the post.




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