Former Wallabies star Israel Folau has thanked donors for pouring more than AU$600,000 (NZ$630,000) to help fund his legal fight against Rugby Australia.
Since setting up the GoFundMe page nearly three days ago, nearly 8000 people have contributed towards the AU$3m (NZ$3.15m) target needed to fight Rugby Australia, which terminated Folau's contract last over a controversial Instagram post in April.
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The 30-year-old is still seeking help despite reportedly having a multimillion-dollar property portfolio worth around AU$5.6m (NZ$5.8m).
In an Instagram post on Saturday evening, Folau paid tribute to those who had kindly donated money towards his fund.
"Thank you to all those who have given to my Legal Action Fund so far," Folau wrote to his 363,000 Instagram followers. "I am humbled and overwhelmed by the support I have received, for which I am very grateful.
"I have received thousands of messages from supporters who believe discrimination in the workplace is wrong and has no place in Australia or anywhere else.
"For those not in the position to donate, I value your prayers and messages of support so much. God bless."
Folau's post came hours after former Wallabies players criticised him for asking for public donations.
Former Waratahs teammate Stephen Hoiles labelled Folau's public pledge "sickening".
"Trying to raise $3 million of other people's money in this day and age is absolute madness," Holies told Fox Sports.
"When you see, in comparison, the little kids on the exact same page that are fighting for their life, I'm sickened by it.
"He's fighting a breach of his own contract, so people are donating money to what they think is a wonderful case of freedom of speech in Australia, but you're not fighting that," Holies continued.
"You're paying money to a guy that's made a million bucks a year for probably the last 10-12 years. He doesn't need anyone's money."
Former Wallabies backline cohort Drew Mitchell endorsed Hoile's perspective and slammed Folau for his public deception.
"He's well off," Mitchell said on Fox Sports. "Let's be honest, he's got plenty of assets and things like that, and if he really believed in what he was doing, he could sell off and go fund it himself.
"As opposed to some of our viewers at home, he's asking them to go and spend their hard-earned on a fight that he's chosen to be in.
"There's plenty of other causes on that GoFundMe page, where there are kids and people that are ill who didn't choose to be in that fight, but they're in it."
Newshub.
