Australian Football Team Fired Their Evangelical CEO Due to His Attendance at Church

The Australian Football League fired its evangelical CEO because of his religious affiliation.

After it came to light on Tuesday that the new CEO of one of Australia’s most popular sports clubs was a member of an evangelical church that accepts biblical teachings on sexuality, the team promptly fired him.

Australia’s premier “Australian rules football” league, the Australian Football League, announced Andrew Thorburn, 57, as its new chief executive officer on Monday.

Nonetheless, Thorburn resigned less than 24 hours later, citing pressure from the club to choose between his new role and his membership and leadership at City on a Hill, an evangelical church in Australia.

The church agrees with the Bible’s teachings on gender and sexuality, including that marriage should only be between one man and one woman.

Most of the criticism directed at the church centered on its views on the LGBT community and abortion.

Being named CEO was “one of the proudest days of my life,” Thorburn, a lifelong “Bombers” fan, remarked.

But today it became evident to me that my personal Christian religion is not accepted or authorized in the public square, at least by some and maybe by many,” Thorburn said in a statement. The amount of concession demanded of me was more than my morals would have permitted. It is important that people be able to work and live together, regardless of their differences in opinion on topics of deep personal significance and morality. How one acts is crucial. All of these things contribute to making our society more accepting and inclusive.

He was once the National Australian Bank’s CEO.

Let me be clear: I love all people and have always advocated for and modeled a workplace that welcomes individuals of various backgrounds, faiths, and orientations, as stated by Thorburn. The sum of my experience, I feel, bears this out.

He expressed his sorrow about being dismissed in a letter: “This grieves me tremendously.”

According to Dave Barham, president of the Essendon Football Club, homosexuality was labeled a “sin” in a sermon given in 2013. The sermon wasn’t delivered by Thorburn.

“The board made clear that, despite the fact that these are not views that Andrew Thorburn has expressed personally and that were also made prior to him taking up his role as chairman, he could not continue to serve in his dual roles at the Essendon Football Club and as chairman of City on the Hill,” Barham said.

However, according to Thorburn, everyone benefits from a more accepting and inclusive society when individuals of various faiths learn to coexist.

In his opinion, “I feel we are poorer for the loss of our tremendous freedoms of thought, conscience and conviction that allowed for a really varied, fair and respectful society,” Thorburn added. Faith is fundamental to who I am. Twenty years ago, I made the decision to follow Jesus, and since then, I have experienced radical transformation. I really feel that God has transformed me into a better husband, father, and friend. I’ve also improved as a leader because to this experience. That’s because I hold dear the doctrine that “you should build a community and take care of people because they are God’s creations, God loves them, and they have tremendous inherent worth.”