Andrew Thorburn has called for religious tolerance and freedom of thought after a club ultimatum that saw him resigning as Essendon chief executive, just a day after his appointment.
Andrew Thorburn resigned his position as Essendon CEO on Tuesday after it was revealed he was the chair of a church that had articles on its website which were critical of abortion and said practising homosexuality was a sin.
Essendon issued a statement saying the views expressed by the City on a Hill church conflicted with the club's values and that Mr Thorburn had been issued with an ultimatum.
In a statement, Mr Thorburn said he had received hundreds of messages of support and said his dismissal had raised fears of religious discrimination among his supporters.
"It is troubling that faith or association with a church, mosque, synagogue or temple could render a person immediately unsuited to holding a particular role," Mr Thorburn said.
"That is a dangerous idea, one that will only reduce tolerance for others and diversity of thought and participation in our community and workplaces."
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan confirmed he had spoken to Mr Thorburn after his resignation and has defended his character.
"He is — in my experience — a first class person, I regard him as a friend. He's got great values," Mr McLachlan said.
Mr McLachlan reiterated that everyone was entitled to their own beliefs, even when they clashed with the beliefs of others.
"At times, those beliefs can intersect with the values and culture of entities and, when you've been asked to lead one that seems to be at odds with the beliefs of another entity you're chairing, I think Andrew had to make a decision," Mr McLachlan said.
"To be honest with you, that he went with his faith doesn't surprise me because he's a person of great conviction."
Former Bombers chair criticises hiring process
Paul Little, who was chair of the Bombers from 2013 to 2015, told ABC Radio Melbourne he empathised with disappointed Essendon supporters and was "feeling their pain".
"The mistakes that are being made — there are just too many, quite frankly," he said.
"We all want, as supporters and members, we want a professional Essendon Football Club that is well run and well managed."
He said it appeared to be a miss that the club did not find the views expressed by Mr Thorburn's church during the recruitment process.
"That information was out there, it was easily accessible," he said.
"When you're the head of a football club, you can't afford to have contentious issues out there — they need to be dealt with."
The City on a Hill church had posts on its website which condemned abortion as "murder".
"Whereas today we look back at sadness and disgust over concentration camps, future generations will look back with sadness at the legal murder of hundreds of thousands of human beings every day through medicine and in the name of freedom," the website stated.
"Lust is a sin, sex outside of marriage is a sin, practising homosexuality is a sin, but same-sex attraction is not a sin," another post said.
Employment lawyer highlights conflicting rights
Josh Bornstein, an employment lawyer at Maurice Blackburn, told ABC Radio Melbourne Mr Thorburn might have been unlawfully discriminated against in the workplace on the basis of his religion.
"We have a conflict between rights to religious belief and religious activity, which are recognised under statute, and we also have rights to be free from homophobic vilification," he said.
Mr Bornstein said for Essendon, it was also an issue of brand management.
"These matters are dealt with in a rush, in a panic, and with brand management at the heart of the exercise," he said.
Ro Allen, the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner, told ABC Radio Melbourne under the law, people have the right to religious belief.
But they said Mr Thorburn's employment conflicted with Essendon's stated values about being "the most inclusive club".
"It's definitely a values conflict to employ someone who's not just a passive member of a church [but on the board]," they said.
"They've actively worked against LGBTI people.
"Every time this is in the media, it does hurt a lot of people."
The commissioner stressed not all Christians held the views expressed by the City on a Hill church.
While they cannot comment on individual cases, they said Mr Thorburn's exit from Essendon may not constitute unlawful discrimination given he chose to resign.
Essendon president David Barham said in a statement on Tuesday that the issue was with Mr Thorburn's position as the church's chair.
"The board made clear that, despite these not being views that Andrew Thorburn has expressed personally and that were also made prior to him taking up his role as chairman, he couldn't continue to serve in his dual roles at the Essendon Football Club and as chairman of City on the Hill," Mr Barham said.
Anglican Archbishop defends Mr Thorburn
Mr Thorburn's City on a Hill church is a part of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne.
Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne Philip Freier has defended the ousted chief executive.
"In 2016, I joined the Archbishop of Canterbury and other international Anglican leaders in agreeing a statement that rejected homophobia and affirmed that 'God's love for every human being is the same, regardless of their sexuality, and that the church should never by its actions give any other impression'," he said.
"I have seen nothing in Andrew Thorburn's reported comments that contradict this position.
"It would be unfortunate if people of faith are sidelined from participation in professional and public life on account of personal religious belief."
Jason Tuazon-McCheyne, the founder of Essendon's LGBT support group the Purple Bombers, told Radio National Mr Thorburn's positions with the church and the Bombers were incongruous.
"You can't chair an organisation that actively campaigns and has values that are contradictory to the organisation that you want to be CEO of — it doesn't work," he said.
Mr Tuazon-McCheyne said despite the initial failure in due diligence, he was "proud of the club" for making a quick decision to stand by its stated values of diversity and inclusion by issuing Mr Thorburn an ultimatum.
"They actually do believe their values, and I'm proud of that," he said.
"I can go to the footy as a gay man with his husband and son and be safe at the footy."
