Former Wallaby Peter Fitzsimons sympathises with netballer Maria Folau's predicament.
The Silver Ferns shooter has come under fire for supporting husband and former Wallaby Israel Folau in his legal battle against Rugby Australia.
Aussie netball great Liz Ellis slammed Maria Folau for reposting her husband's controversial GoFundMe post on Instagram over the weekend.
- Australian Christian Lobby launching fundraising website for Folau
- Don Brash defends Israel Folau, says people are too 'politically correct'
But Fitzsimons, who co-hosts a radio show with Ellis, told The AM Show he doesn't envy Maria Folau's situation.
"I think a majority of people understand Maria Folau is just supporting her husband and that's understandable that she would," Fitzsimons said.
The now-journalist and successful author expects Folau will escape any punishment from New Zealand Netball, which is due to make a statement on Tuesday.
"I'm sure netball has a code of conduct and I'd imagine there is some sort of clause there on homophobia," Fitzsimons said.
"When Netball NZ looks at her comments and dives deep, they will assess if there is a breach there. All they can do is find out if they have a case there and I'd be personally surprised if Maria's post breached any form of code of conduct."
But Fitzsimons has sensed a shift in Australians' attitude toward Israel Folau and his impending legal battle with his former employers.
Fitzsimons acknowledged that before Folau launched his GoFundMe campaign, the 30-year-old enjoyed considerable support, with many pointing to the right for free speech.
That narrative has changed over recent days.
"My impression is before the GoFundMe debacle, there would have been a 70 percent versus 30 percent against Israel ratio," Fitzsimons told The AM Show.
"I would suggest that since that was launched, a high majority of Australians, including a section of his supporters, were disgusted.
"We all know GoFundMe is used to help families of sick children and the like - people who need funds, because they need help from the community and the community helps them.
"The publicity in the last 2-3 days has been shocking for Folau.
"A bloke, who has earned close to NZ$12 million and has a $7 million property portfolio, asking for financial assistance, because he is in 'the fight of his life'.
"The reaction to that has been very much, 'no mate' - that's been the vibe in Australia.
"Yes, there were 10.000 people in a nation of 25 million who raised three-quarters of a million dollars, but the bulk of the people - the bulk of Australians - you'd be hard pressed to find any support on social-media platforms now."
Newshub.
