Sonny Bill Williams has been very open about his Muslim faith since converting in 2009. Photo / Photosport
Sonny Bill Williams has been very open about his Muslim faith since converting in 2009. Photo / Photosport
A reflective Sonny Bill Williams has opened up about his time visiting the victims of the Christchurch shooting last year.
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Williams said he regularly prays for the oppressed and those in need, including the families of the 51 people murdered in the Christchurch mosque shooting on March 15 last year.
The shooter, white supremacist Brenton Tarrant, was jailed for life without parole last week.
Williams, a prominent Kiwi Muslim, showed his support for the Islamic community after the shooting and took a hiatus from the Blues to visit the city.
"The Christchurch massacre just showed me that good people will support one another, that bad and evil exists, and we should do all we can to speak out against that," Williams told the Daily Telegraph.
"I'm glad I had a lot of good people around me at that time, and got a lot of support from my All Blacks teammates, Kieran Read, Sam Whitelock, Owen Franks, the Crusaders coach Scott Robertson, they all called me, the chairman of the NZRU [Brent Impey] called me, too many people to name.
"[Fellow Muslim player] Ofa Tuungafasi was there with me."
Williams and fellow sports stars Anthony Mundine, Bachar Houli and Hazem El Masri spent many hours in hospitals consoling injured victims.
Sonny Bill Williams has been very open about his Muslim faith since converting in 2009. Photo / Photosport
Williams' new Sydney Roosters boss Nick Politis praised the former All Blacks' selflessness.
"There's a lot of kindness there, when Sonny was here last time in 2013, there was a kid who was sick, and he drove to Wollongong to see him," Politis said.
"He didn't tell anyone, he did it off his own bat, it's a wonderful thing. You get a tear in your eye when you hear these things.
"He does a lot for people and he doesn't want to talk about it, doesn't want to show off, doesn't want to be in the papers for it the next day, he's just very humble.
"Sonny Bill's been unbelievable from the early days, he's such a wonderful person. He really cares about people, he gives his time to everybody, you can even see now watching games, he's talking to young players coming through.
"He treats everyone equally, he's not just interested in talking to the superstar players. He's like that in life, he's a good family guy.
"And when he retires, he will do a lot of good things for a lot of people."
Sonny Bill Williams of the Sydney Roosters. Photo / Photosport
Williams, who is expected to play his first game for the Roosters tonight, said it was important to give back to the community.
"It's important because you're never too far from being sick," he said.
"If you live the natural course of a life, we'll go through a period where we will get sick.
"It's a constant reminder that we're only human, that this could be you or anyone close to you. It's a good way of staying grounded, and to thank God that we have our health.
"I believe it's a good thing for a human to constantly visit people who are doing it tough, it lets us all know our vulnerabilities.
