‘It’s embarrassing’: Ray Hadley calls for Sonny Bill Williams to be sacked

Radio presenter Ray Hadley has put Sonny Bill Williams and Channel 9 in his crosshairs as he again calls for the athlete to be axed.

Ray Hadley has delivered a scathing attack on Sonny Bill Williams, calling for the cross-code sporting great to be sacked by Channel 9.

It’s the second time the 2GB radio presenter has called for the company to bring the axe down on the code-hopping athlete.

The radio host said he was “embarrassed” to be working under the same umbrella as the former star, who is employed by Nine Entertainment as a rugby union commentator for Stan. Nine is also the owner of 2GB.

Hadley unleashed during his radio program on Wednesday last week over SBW’s social media comments surrounding the bishop who was attacked in Sydney days earlier.

“I don’t know how this bloke has continued to be employed by the network that employs me,” Hadley said.

“That’s a decision for people who are a higher post than me.

“It’s embarrassing he’s employed by this organisation. I’m embarrassed to be in the same camp as him.

“I’d say to the Nine board that employs me – you should be embarrassed as well, led by Mr (Peter) Costello, that you still employ him. How he sustains his job given his monosyllabic efforts on TV, I’ll never know, let alone his dim-witted approach on social media.”

News.com.au has contacted Nine for comment.

Sonny Bill’s comments often draw backlash. Photo: Supplied,

Hadley wants the network to sever ties. Picture supplied

Hadley scolded Sonny Bill over a message he had shared on social media that came in the wake of the stabbing attack on a bishop at the Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley.

“This is his lack of knowledge of world affairs, let alone what’s happening in South Western Sydney,” he said.

“The Daily Mail reports Sonny Bill Williams has shared a bizarre message about the Sydney church sermon stabbing with controversial influencer Andrew Tate ... he’s the sort of bloke you want to retweet.

“This bloke Tate, from Romania, sees the footage and the posts something which has been retweeted by Sonny Bill Williams.

“His (Tate) original post linked the stabbing to comments Bishop Emmanuel has supposedly made about the Israel-Gaza war.

“Which he hasn’t to my knowledge. So while the stabbing is being declared an act of terrorism by NSW Police, Tate captioned the video of the attack: ‘Anti Zionist preacher Stopping killing little Muslim girls, they are little angels stabbed in Sydney Australia’.

“Sonny Bill, with the brain the size of a kumquat, reposts it and says ‘praying for his full recovery’ alongside an open palm emoji.

“So he thinks Tate is right in describing the bishop as anti zionist supporting the Muslim faith.

“Be handy one day Sonny Bill if you picked up the paper and got somebody to read it to you or cleaned the wax out of your ears and listen to what’s been going on in Sydney over the past 48 hours.”

Controversial influencer Andrew Tate is

SBW shared Tate’s post. Picture: X

Hadley confirmed to News Corp he hadn’t been contacted my senior management following his attack as he doubled down on calling out SBW.

“I’m not going to sit back and ignore what he’s been saying. He needs to be called out. If he wants to go to Gaza, go to Gaza and stay there. I’ve had a gutful,” he said.

It’s the second time in six months that Hadley has called for the network to sack the former All Blacks star over his comments surrounding the Gaza conflict.

Williams sparked outraged in October, 2023 when he shared a social media post from the controversial American commentator Khaled Beydoun.

“So, Ukrainian civilians defending their families are ‘freedom fighters’ … But Palestinians in Gaza doing the EXACT same thing are ‘terrorists?” Williams reposted with a “100 per cent” emoji.

Williams’ message also included a praying emoji.

SBW moved onto boxing after rugby

The tweet that drew widespread backlash

Hadley didn’t mince his words in an interview at the time with Ben Fordham as he described Williams as a “lunatic” and said if “brains were dynamite, Sonny Bill Williams wouldn’t blow his ears off”.

“It’s embarrassing for me and other people connected with this radio and TV network that he’s employed by - and I think that the CEO of the company should review his employment prospects,” he continued.

“It’s a disgrace.”

Hadley ended by saying “words escape me”.

Originally published as ‘It’s embarrassing’: Ray Hadley calls for Sonny Bill Williams to be sacked