Hugh McGahan: The money or the boxing bag - but not both

Sonny Bill Williams is a supreme athlete. Photo / Getty Images

I have saved myself the anguish of weighing into the Sonny Bill Williams debate over a few seasons, but now I'd like to add something.

To state that this man is a talented individual is obvious but he has attracted some vile responses from the general and sporting public.

Why? No one has been able to achieve what he has to date - NRL Premiership, Kiwis representative, All Black, World Cup winner, New Zealand boxing champion.

Who else can claim similar in the modern era? Could Richie McCaw, Darren Lockyer or Sugar Ray Leonard claim success in two sports, let alone three? The great Michael Jordan tried to cross into baseball but couldn't crack it despite being good at it as well as golf.

I am trying to highlight that this man should be acknowledged for what he's achieved. As supporters of individual sports, we should recognise that he may not be the greatest in each sport but he has achieved in each what many aspire to but who don't get within a bull's roar ...

He now attracts more attention for everything other than his sporting talents - haircut, girlfriend, physique and acronym (SBW), but my concern is for what is being speculated in the media of late. He is seeking $1.2m for a one-year deal and permission to continue to box in the off-season. Reports state that he is about to return to rugby league to my beloved Roosters.

Because of such speculation involving my former club, I have intentionally not asked the question of people I know there. So I don't know if he has signed or not. But, if he has, I would not be happy about the fact that he could continue his boxing career. No other player has that type of power to demand such extremes - especially in an activity likely to cause physical injury.

It is beyond comprehension that he has been allowed to do it now under his NZRU contract but, when desperation is involved, people will often compromise boundaries that normally shape them or their organisation (like Dan Carter's sabbatical, for instance).

How desperate has rugby league become if it is willing to negotiate its soul to secure what can only be described as the short-term spotlight? Sonny Bill Williams is ratings and he is 'bums on seats'.

People want to see him succeed or fail; he will deliver one or the other. I have no problem if SBW receives the money he attracts for his signature; demand has its price.

But to allow him to do what no other player has been able to is what I'm against.

The precedent was set when players asked to have off seasons in the UK or rugby in Japan and the answer was no. Tell him the same.

It's funny, though - Sonny Bill left rugby league because he wasn't receiving the money he was promised; he's now on the cusp of returning for much more than he was seeking in the first place.

Money does strange things to people.