Former NRL player Tony Williams has appointed Jenny Morrison as his empathy coach after he lost his playing contract for publicly defending Jarryd Hayne. Williams defended the convicted rapist and has sought the assistance of the prime minister’s wife to repair his public image.
Williams earned a nomination for The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame after he defended Hayne and attacked the victim on Instagram.
The Frownlow Medal is awarded to the player whose off-field demeanour epitomises the values of the modern-day footballer and draws attention to the status of footballers as role models to young Australians. It covers Australia’s four major football codes; the National Rugby League (NRL), Australian Football League (AFL), the A-League (Football) and Rugby Union’s Super Rugby competition. NRL player Shaun Kenny-Dowall won the inaugural medal in 2015, while AFL player Elijah Taylor is the most recent recipient.
The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame honours former players and players who received media attention in previous seasons, for similarly scandalous behaviour, and its inductees include Ben Cousins and Julian O’Neill.
“I need Jenny Morrison to teach me how to respect women,” explained Williams.
“Scott Morrison showed no respect for women when there was all that news about harassment in parliament house and stuff, but then he spoke to Jenny and he said it changed his mind.”
“I’ve already met with Jenny once and the first thing she said to me is that I’ve got a wife and two daughters, just like Scott. I’d forgotten about that when I put that post about Jarryd on Instagram. After Jenny told me that I have to think about my own wife and daughters, I posted another message apologising to everyone.”
The former Test player then explained that Jenny reminded him that it’s impossible for men to respect women if they don’t have a wife or daughters. She also pointed out to ‘T-Rex’ that the only people who do respect women are devout Christians, like Jarryd, Scott, Krisnan Inu and Williams himself.
Williams and Jenny also discussed the famous Aussie value of mateship, and how that can justify public comments defending someone sentenced to five years in prison.
“Jenny reminded me that Scott defended his mate, Christian Porter, when he was accused of rape, and that it’s ok to ignore the female victim if the alleged attacker is your mate.”
Image: NuNa
The Frownlow Medal 