Israel Folau refuses to take a knee with teammates and rivals before English Super League clash
Israel Folau decided not to take a knee with Catalans and St Helens players before their English Super League clash this morning.
Officials and players from both sides knelt in a show of support for the Black Lives Matter movement, moments before the match at Headingley.
But Folau remained standing as others around him dropped on one knee.
Folau, who signed a one year extension with the club last month, has had a relatively quiet introduction back into professional sport since his sacking by Rugby Australia for posting homophobic comments on social media.
Dragons coach Steve McNamara defended Folau's decision post match saying it was a "personal choice".
Israel Folau takes a hit up against St Helens. Getty
"As a group of players and coaching staff, we spoke about it in depth and as a club we are completely against racism and all for equal opportunity," McNamara said.
"But there were some players and staff who made the decision not to take the knee. That was based on personal choice, they have their own reasons for doing that, and we decided we would respect anyone's personal choice on the matter."
The first round of Super League matches returned since rugby league was suspended in March due to the coronavirus outbreak.
