Sonny Bill Williams - Controversies

Controversies

Williams has been involved in a number of controversial off-field incidents. Most controversially, the circumstances in which he left the Bulldogs created a great media debate in Australia and New Zealand and Williams was the subject of considerable criticism for a departure that was described as the greatest act of treachery in the game's history.

On 17 August 2005 he was charged with drink driving; the Bulldogs fined him $5,000 over the incident and he appeared in Waverley Local Court on 7 September. He was convicted of drink driving, with a blood alcohol level of .075.

In 2007, Williams was caught in a compromising position with Australian model and ironwoman Candice Falzon. A photo taken on a mobile phone showing the pair in a toilet cubicle at Sydney's Clovelly Hotel was published on the Daily Telegraph website. He later apologised to his then girlfriend over the incident and said he was "ashamed and embarrassed".

On 17 June 2007, Williams was caught by police urinating on a wall in an alleyway near a nightclub in Cronulla in Sydney and was given an infringement notice and fined $650. He subsequently admitted he had an alcohol problem and said he would seek professional help. Almost a month later, Williams smashed a paparazzi photographer's camera after being photographed leaving a Kings Cross nightclub – with damages being as high as between $10,000 and $15,000.

On 25 August 2010, Williams was reprimanded by his Canterbury provincial rugby team for skiing while on injury leave. A Canterbury Rugby Union spokesman confirmed he had not been given clearance to go on a skiing trip on the day of Canterbury's NPC match against Tasman, and said he had been "reminded of his responsibilities."

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