The agent of Sonny Bill Williams has said he is considering legal action following criticism of Williams' apparently close association with a homophobic Muslim cleric. Sonny Bill Williams with Mufti Ismail Menk The criticisms were voiced to BMW, for which Williams is a 'brand ambassador,' on the basis of his association with Mufti Ismail Menk who was banned from six UK universities in 2013 for his extreme anti-homosexual views which include preaching that gay people are 'worse than animals.' The agent, Khoder Nasser, says the criticisms amount to "slanderous insinuations," according to Stuff, which reports Nasser saying it was wrong to jump to conclusions and strongly suggested the photos of the pair had been taken out of context. "Regarding the malicious insinuations I'd like to say by simply linking social media accounts that Sonny in any way is involved in hurtful or hateful agendas... it's not Sonny's thing and never has been." BMW have said they are taking the criticisms seriously and are looking into the matter. GayNZ.com Daily News yesterday approached the NZ Rugby Union, which is involved in a diversity in sports programme, but our request for comment have not been acknowledged. [Editor's note: Attempts over some weeks to get comment and perspective specifically for the glbti community from the Chiefs management, player Brendan Barrowclough and the NZRU following last August's Okoroire Hot Springs homophobic verbal abuse incident were similarly fruitless.]
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 26th January 2017 - 12:38pm