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World reacts to Jarryd Hayne’s NFL retirement

JARRYD Hayne has been slammed by a 49ers reporter as the world reacts to his shock decision to quit the NFL.

Jai BednallJai Bednall
@jaibednall
5 min read
May 16, 2016 - 10:33AM
After just one season of American football, Jarryd Hayne has called it quits.
After just one season of American football, Jarryd Hayne has called it quits.

JARRYD Hayne’s NFL experiment is over after just one season, with the Australian star announcing his retirement from the San Francisco 49ers to switch to Rugby Sevens.

“I am retiring from the NFL because the Fiji Rugby Sevens team reached out to me about the opportunity to join the team for the upcoming Olympics, and I simply could not pass that chance up,” the 28-year-old said in a statement. “The Olympics has been something I have admired since I was a little boy, and it is an opportunity I feel very similar to me joining the NFL.”

It’s a shock move for Hayne, who has spent the past 12 months chasing his dream of playing in the NFL.

After playing eight games in his first season, the former NRL star survived the first round of roster cuts for the 49ers just over a week ago and the sudden development has certainly taken some people by surprise. As the US media, San Francisco 49ers, Rugby Sevens, rugby league reacted to the news, a drug-testing expert made a shock revelation which could dramatically change this story.

US MEDIA

Bleacher Report’s Joseph Zucker took Hayne at his word that the opportunity to compete at the Olympics simply outweighed his NFL ambition.

“That the 28-year-old would call time on his NFL career to play in the Olympics isn’t a huge surprise,” Zucker wrote. “San Francisco head coach Chip Kelly could’ve potentially found new ways to get Hayne involved, but with Carlos Hyde healthy, he had little chance at getting a high volume of snaps at running back. Even if he had had a starring role in the Bay Area, the prospect of participating in the Olympics likely would’ve swayed Hayne back to reigniting his rugby career.”

Yahoo! Sports’ Frank Schwab commended the Aussie for what he achieved in his short time in the game.

“That Hayne even made it on the 49ers last year is pretty remarkable,” Schwab wrote. “He had never played American football before he tried out for NFL teams ... He didn’t put up huge numbers, with 52 rushing yards and 27 receiving yards, but making it at all was a testament to his athletic ability.”

But Santa Rosa Press Democrat Lowell Cohn sunk the boot in, labelling Hayne the “most over-hyped non-contributor in a long time”.

San Francisco Chronicle beat writer Eric Branch believed making the 49ers roster would have been a tall order for Hayne this season.

“I can’t speak to what he was thinking and if (his decision) was influenced by whether he was going to make the roster,” Branch told Triple M’s The Grill Team. “I can say he certainly faced a challenge in making the roster with the 49ers. They had two recent draft picks who were running backs ... they have an unquestioned starter in Carlos Hyde ... and two other running backs (DuJuan Harris and Shaun Draughn) who played pretty well last season. There was absolutely no guarantee he was going to make the roster.”

Hayne captured the imagination of Australia during his time in America.
Hayne captured the imagination of Australia during his time in America.

THE HAYNE CAMP

Since the news broke early Monday morning (AEST), Hayne has been flooded with good luck messages on social media, which he has been responding to. He has also been sharing videos of some of his fondest memories with the 49ers team.

Hayne’s manager, Wayne Beavis, said Hayne was offered the opportunity to go to the Olympics a fortnight ago and it was a “good thing to have on his CV when he looks back on it later in life”.

“He achieved everything he could at the 49ers,” Beavis told Triple M’s The Grill Team. “I think he could have gone for another couple of years. But he would have been in the grind there.”

He denied Hayne was on the outer with new coach Chip Kelly. “They’d sat down and had a couple of chats and the new coach was very happy with him and happy with his progress,” Beavis said. “Jarryd was buoyed by it all ... everything was going swimmingly and then out of left field came the Rio opportunity.”

Hayne will fly to London to join up with the Fiji Sevens side ahead of the series finale at Twickenham this weekend. Beavis refused to say where his future lied after Rio.

“I’m sure there will be no lack of opportunities for him,” he said.

Hayne’s US-based agent, Jack Bechta, thanked the 49ers for the way they handled the situation.

THE 49ERS

San Francisco general manager Trent Baalke and CEO Jed York thanked Hayne for his contributions to the organisation.

“Jarryd is a tremendous example of what can happen when you commit to a goal and do everything in your power to make it a reality,” Baalke said.

“He earned the right to wear a 49ers uniform and compete alongside the best in the game. We fully support Jarryd’s decision to pursue another dream — representing the Fiji Rugby Sevens team in this summer’s Olympic Games. We look forward to watching him in Rio and wish him continued success.”

Several Niners players — including DiAndre Campbell, Torrey Smith and DeAndrew White — also gave their now former teammate a shout out on Twitter.

THE NFL

Hayne was a favourite of the NFL’s official Twitter account and they showed him more love this morning by posting some of his preseason highlights from last year.

The New York Giants Australian punter Brad Wing also wished Hayne luck.

RUGBY SEVENS

Fiji Rugby Sevens coach Ben Ryan welcomed Hayne into the fold but said that he isn’t guaranteed to make the team for the Rio Games.

“It is a huge challenge for Jarryd but if he gets into the squad it is only going to be on form, because he is a blinding rugby player. If he doesn’t make it, is just shows how good this Fijian sevens side is,” Ryan said, according to the World Rugby Sevens official website.

New Zealand Sevens star and All Blacks World Cup winner Liam Messam is hoping Hayne gets picked for London — despite his lack of experience.

RUGBY LEAGUE

While Hayne’s initial focus is the Olympics, his future beyond Rio is expected to include a return to the NRL — and his landing spot will be of huge interest.

Channel Nine sport reporter Tim Gilbert believes the recent salary cap woes of Hayne’s former club Parramatta could see him head to Bondi Junction. “I think Jarryd Hayne will play for the Sydney Roosters next year,” Gilbert said on Today.

But Hayne fired back, tweeting “you an (sic) your mates been thinking that for 14 months” in response to Gilbert’s comments.

South Sydney owner Russell Crowe said Hayne should go back to Parramatta. “And Semi Radradra can come and play for Souths,” Crowe told Nova’s Fitzy & Wippa.

Crowe poked fun at Hayne’s new goal. “I thought his lifelong dream was to play in the NFL?” Crowe said. “I wonder what his next lifelong dream is going to be?”

Former Eel Matt Ryan, now playing with Bradford in the UK, wished Hayne luck.

DRUG-TESTING EXPERT

Former ASADA boss Richard Ings has made the stunning claim Hayne could be prevented from competing at the Olympics because of drug-testing requirements.

Ings said World Rugby required its athletes to be in a registered testing pool for six months to be eligible to play.

He said Hayne may have had grounds to reduce the period if he had been playing in a WADA-compliant sport — but the NFL is not a signatory to the code.

Hayne and World Rugby are yet to respond to Ings’ tweets.

Originally published as World reacts to Jarryd Hayne’s NFL retirement

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