oztriker
08-08-2008, 09:29 AM
THEY WEREN'T MY FRIENDS ANYWAY.
Ch 9: OK, let's talk about your teammates. Andrew Ryan, the day after you walked out, was very critical, said that you wouldn't be a friend of his any more. Other players have been too cranky to talk about it. You must know, walking out on your teammates must have upset them.
SBW: I've spoken to my close mates at the Dogs, I've explained the whole situation, and at first a couple of them were a bit "Oh, the way you left, you didn't tell", but when I explained the situation, they were behind me 100 per cent.
I'm just a bit hurt that some of the players have come out and bagged me straight away without knowing the facts, because I thought with them knowing the kind of bloke I was, there would have been a legitimate reason for me doing what I've done. At the end of the day, those players that have stood up and hammered me straight away probably weren't my friends in the first place.
Ch 9: Can you understand the players' anger? The last couple of weeks they have been flogged and it's embarrassing for the team. Does that hurt you to hear they've been beaten very badly over the last couple of weeks?
SBW: Yeah, of course, I never like seeing my close mates losing like that, but these boys know that what I've done is not just about me, it's about the young boys coming through, getting a better go.
Because if some good comes out of what I've done, which I think it will, hopefully these players start getting treated a bit better, not just like cattle.
I DON'T NEED TO APOLOGISE
Ch 9: WHAT have you got to say to the fans? Because you left them without notice, and they're obviously upset.
SBW: Fans, at the end of the day, fans are the only real people out there in the game.
They're the ones that turn up to the games, they're the ones that buy the tickets, they're the ones that pay for the jerseys. They're the only real people in the game.
And I guess what I've done to all the Bulldogs fans, I know that you probably won't understand what I've done. You probably never will, but I would like to think that one day, these young kids who've got the Sonny Bill jersey, or my poster on the wall, that they grow up and they realise that what I've done is not just about me, it's about everyone.
It's about all the players.
I just hope they just do realise that one day. And to the fans that have stuck by me, I just want to say thanks a lot for your support, I love youse all, and especially, I've got a lot of support out of the Samoan and the Aboriginal community so I just want to say thank you and I love youse all, too.
Ch 9: Sonny Bill, do you want to say sorry to them that they won't have you to cheer on?
SBW: Say sorry for what, man? Have I like murdered someone? Have I?
Ch 9: No, but they like you.
SBW: You don't understand what I'm saying. I'm not saying that I hate rugby league, I love playing rugby league . . . I can't play rugby league again you know, so I don't know what to say. I'm not sorry for sticking up for what I believe in, for standing up for myself, for standing up for fellow players. Know what I mean?
COWARDS RUN AWAY I DIDN'T
Ch 9: OK, you've been called a coward. It's been called a "dog act" what you did. What do you say to that?
SBW: Cowards are people that run away. I didn't run away.
Ch 9: What did you do?
SBW: What did I do? I stood up, I stood up for myself, for what I believe in, I stood up for all those other players that are sitting at home.
I had to have balls to do what I've done. I'm no coward, you know.
I stood up for myself and I stood up for player rights. So people that call me a coward, that are sitting behind their desk or sitting wherever, well come to my face and say it.
Let's not be stupid, let's not be naive. Do you think before I left I didn't think my name was going to get slammed, that I wasn't going to get vilified, that my family weren't going to get harassed, that I wasn't going to be made up to be some rapist, some killer, some murderer.
Do you know what I mean? Let's not be stupid. What I took, it's not a coward act, it's a ballsy act, you know what I mean?
We are talking one seriously stupid person here....:patsch
Ch 9: OK, let's talk about your teammates. Andrew Ryan, the day after you walked out, was very critical, said that you wouldn't be a friend of his any more. Other players have been too cranky to talk about it. You must know, walking out on your teammates must have upset them.
SBW: I've spoken to my close mates at the Dogs, I've explained the whole situation, and at first a couple of them were a bit "Oh, the way you left, you didn't tell", but when I explained the situation, they were behind me 100 per cent.
I'm just a bit hurt that some of the players have come out and bagged me straight away without knowing the facts, because I thought with them knowing the kind of bloke I was, there would have been a legitimate reason for me doing what I've done. At the end of the day, those players that have stood up and hammered me straight away probably weren't my friends in the first place.
Ch 9: Can you understand the players' anger? The last couple of weeks they have been flogged and it's embarrassing for the team. Does that hurt you to hear they've been beaten very badly over the last couple of weeks?
SBW: Yeah, of course, I never like seeing my close mates losing like that, but these boys know that what I've done is not just about me, it's about the young boys coming through, getting a better go.
Because if some good comes out of what I've done, which I think it will, hopefully these players start getting treated a bit better, not just like cattle.
I DON'T NEED TO APOLOGISE
Ch 9: WHAT have you got to say to the fans? Because you left them without notice, and they're obviously upset.
SBW: Fans, at the end of the day, fans are the only real people out there in the game.
They're the ones that turn up to the games, they're the ones that buy the tickets, they're the ones that pay for the jerseys. They're the only real people in the game.
And I guess what I've done to all the Bulldogs fans, I know that you probably won't understand what I've done. You probably never will, but I would like to think that one day, these young kids who've got the Sonny Bill jersey, or my poster on the wall, that they grow up and they realise that what I've done is not just about me, it's about everyone.
It's about all the players.
I just hope they just do realise that one day. And to the fans that have stuck by me, I just want to say thanks a lot for your support, I love youse all, and especially, I've got a lot of support out of the Samoan and the Aboriginal community so I just want to say thank you and I love youse all, too.
Ch 9: Sonny Bill, do you want to say sorry to them that they won't have you to cheer on?
SBW: Say sorry for what, man? Have I like murdered someone? Have I?
Ch 9: No, but they like you.
SBW: You don't understand what I'm saying. I'm not saying that I hate rugby league, I love playing rugby league . . . I can't play rugby league again you know, so I don't know what to say. I'm not sorry for sticking up for what I believe in, for standing up for myself, for standing up for fellow players. Know what I mean?
COWARDS RUN AWAY I DIDN'T
Ch 9: OK, you've been called a coward. It's been called a "dog act" what you did. What do you say to that?
SBW: Cowards are people that run away. I didn't run away.
Ch 9: What did you do?
SBW: What did I do? I stood up, I stood up for myself, for what I believe in, I stood up for all those other players that are sitting at home.
I had to have balls to do what I've done. I'm no coward, you know.
I stood up for myself and I stood up for player rights. So people that call me a coward, that are sitting behind their desk or sitting wherever, well come to my face and say it.
Let's not be stupid, let's not be naive. Do you think before I left I didn't think my name was going to get slammed, that I wasn't going to get vilified, that my family weren't going to get harassed, that I wasn't going to be made up to be some rapist, some killer, some murderer.
Do you know what I mean? Let's not be stupid. What I took, it's not a coward act, it's a ballsy act, you know what I mean?
We are talking one seriously stupid person here....:patsch