The tale of two papers - Sonny Bill Williams

[Frozen Chook]

If we look at the coverage of soon-to-be-released book Sonny Bill Williams: You Can’t Stop the Sun from Shining,

In particular his time with the Bulldogs a young man.

SMH coverage compared to Murdoch - the bringer of the Daily Tell u crap.

Unfortunately I am not permitted to attach the screenshots

[Mickie Lane]

‘So many drugs in my system I could have died’: SBW bares all in new book

Multi-code sports superstar Sonny Bill Williams has opened up on his ugly exit from the Bulldogs in a searingly honest new book that details the Kiwi’s struggles with identity, drug use, racism, and the pressures of being a young sportsman in the modern age.
The book, titled: Sonny Bill Williams: You Can’t Stop the Sun from Shining, finally uncloaks the real reasons behind his stunning departure from rugby league to chase an All Blacks dream.
Long before he became a Rugby 7s Olympian in Rio, or a champion boxer, or even a league and union dual international, Williams was thrust into the limelight as a rising NRL star.

It was something he struggled deeply with. In the book, as quoted by The Sydney Morning Herald, he revealed he turned to smoking and sleeping tablets to deal with the pressure – particularly following a 2005 drink-driving incident which saw him forced in front of the cameras for a public apology.
“Suddenly, I was a public figure,” he writes. “How is a shy boy supposed to cope with that? That’s not in the script either. And I had no one to guide me. So I found my own ways to deal with it. By having a smoke before I went out or a couple of sleeping tablets to relax me. I was trying to take the fear away.”
He claims that a lack of support and guidance left him walking down the wrong roads – alone – partying so hard that his life was at risk.

“One time I went on a bender that lasted from Friday night to Monday morning,” he writes. “The only reason I came home is I knew I had a surgery appointment at 11am. I don’t remember anything about the operations except waking up having my girlfriend crying next to the bed and the doc really gave it to me, telling me I had so many drugs in my system I could have died.”
It was a turning point in his life, but reflected a lifelong struggle with identity and mental health. “I had low self-esteem, what I think of as an Islander mentality, which came from all I’ve ever seen. All my father had ever seen,” Williams writes of his early days.
Soon he would turn to Islam – and faced a raft of racist abuse as well as fresh scrutiny in the media.
“No one had paid attention to my private life before then,” he writes. “No one cared. When I was drinking or partying hard, as long as I was always doing what they needed on the field, and it didn’t make the press. And even then, it was all about damage control, not about my wellbeing. Suddenly, my private life was concerning because of my religion.”

Then came the infamous quitting of Canterbury 13 years ago. Not for money, as many claimed at the time, but for the then-22-year-old’s ‘inner peace’.
“I thought, I’ve got to get out of here, make a complete break,” Williams writes.
“People were starting to talk about the fact that I was keeping company with Muslims, asking why I was hanging out with ‘those kinds of people’,” he writes. “‘Those’ as in Muslims. This just brought out the steel in me and raised my hackles. I needed to change for my own happiness, contentment, and to find inner peace, rather than blocking out all that need in the noise of partying.”
“I was overwhelmed, but didn’t even understand myself why I had lost my way so badly,” he also shares. “So I had no idea how to explain it to the media, the faithful Bulldogs fans and coaches and team support staff.”
Williams has shared his story as both a cautionary tale and an attempt to guide the next generation of stars. Let’s hope many are listening.

I know Joey Johns got caught with 1 ecstasy pill & gets called a drug addict on here how does that compare to SBW "I had so many drugs in my system I could have died.”

[SamKerrSimp]

Saying Joey Johns had “1 ecstasy pill” is completely horseshit considering he said he was doing through this entire career but anyway the “drug cheat” shit with Johns is stupid and blown way out of proportion he’s not a drug cheat.

Anyway, it was always rumoured willie mason was the one who failed a drugs test and the bulldogs kept it hidden but maybe it was SBW after all?

[ism22]

Saying Joey Johns had “1 ecstasy pill” is completely horseshit considering he said he was doing through this entire career but anyway the “drug cheat” shit with Johns is stupid and blown way out of proportion he’s not a drug cheat.

Anyway, it was always rumoured willie mason was the one who failed a drugs test and the bulldogs kept it hidden but maybe it was SBW after all?

I think the difference with SBW is that he confronted all this and got himself clean. IMO his development is the big story...

Seems odd that the Doggies woulda had beef with muslims. My personal belief is that religion's all fiction that promises false hope (and you can better your life without referring to religious texts). However, El Masri and 99% of Doggies fans were muslims at the time (or at least that was the image... a club that appealed to the local Bankstown community). Seems pretty shyte that they'd dog their community & club legends like that.

[Mickie Lane]

I think the difference with SBW is that he confronted all this and got himself clean. IMO his development is the big story...

Seems odd that the Doggies woulda had beef with muslims. My personal belief is that religion's all fiction that promises false hope (and you can better your life without referring to religious texts). However, El Masri and 99% of Doggies fans were muslims at the time (or at least that was the image... a club that appealed to the local Bankstown community). Seems pretty shyte that they'd dog their community & club legends like that.

Halal
God you get some warped thought sometimes.

[ism22]

Halal
God you get some warped thought sometimes.

You all good bro?

[SamKerrSimp]

I think the difference with SBW is that he confronted all this and got himself clean. IMO his development is the big story...

Seems odd that the Doggies woulda had beef with muslims. My personal belief is that religion's all fiction that promises false hope (and you can better your life without referring to religious texts). However, El Masri and 99% of Doggies fans were muslims at the time (or at least that was the image... a club that appealed to the local Bankstown community). Seems pretty shyte that they'd dog their community & club legends like that.

99% of dogs fans weren’t Muslim what are you even on about? He was also talking about the media not the bulldogs which it clearly states in the article “faced scrutiny from the media”

[Mickie Lane]

You all good bro?

All good thanks bra.

[ism22]

99% of dogs fans weren’t Muslim what are you even on about? He was also talking about the media not the bulldogs which it clearly states in the article “faced scrutiny from the media”

Nah he was talking about the coach and others within the club.

> "I turned up to training one day and the coach said to me, 'you aren't turning Muslim are you?'," Williams writes.

> "I tried to laugh it off, but then the comments were made about my friends.

> "No one had paid attention to my private life before then. No one cared.

> "When I was drinking or partying hard, as long as I was always doing what they needed on the field, and it didn't make the press. And even then, it was all about damage control, not about my wellbeing.

> "Suddenly, my private life was concerning because of my religion."

https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/sonny-b...1-6820d45c771f

Re your comment challenging what percentage of people in Bankstown are muslim, do yourself a favour and google hyperbole.

> ...the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech... it is usually not meant to be taken literally.

[The Skeez]

I don’t like the name subtitle of Sonny’s book. Reminds me of the $20 I wasted buying Wayne Bennett’s book ‘Don’t die with the music in you’. All these league types saying what a great read it was. Bullshit!

Goes to show rugby league people don’t often make good books. Though I’d love to read Matthew Ridges book ‘Take no prisoners’ - an absolute belter by all accounts.

[Mickie Lane]

I don’t like the name subtitle of Sonny’s book. Reminds me of the $20 I wasted buying Wayne Bennett’s book ‘Don’t die with the music in you’. All these league types saying what a great read it was. Bullshit!

Goes to show rugby league people don’t often make good books. Though I’d love to read Matthew Ridges book ‘Take no prisoners’ - an absolute belter by all accounts.

What a top tough fullback he was at Manly. I used to love watching him play.