Footy star Shaun Johnson spotted wearing ‘Free Palestine’ badge as Sonny Bill Williams praises New Zealand Warriors halfback amid Gaza conflict

Shaun Johnson was spotted wearing a ‘Free Palestine’ badge, leading to Sonny Bill Williams praising the NRL star for ‘standing up for justice’.

Williams, 38, a devout Muslim who converted to Islam in 2009, has been vocal on social media about the ongoing crisis in Gaza, which erupted in October and has claimed thousands of lives.

And he took to social media on Tuesday after a photo of Warriors halfback Johnson wearing a ‘Free Palestine’ sign went viral.

The 33-year-old smiled in the photo with his wife, Kayla. It is unknown when the photo was taken.

“Good to see some players standing up for justice,” Williams wrote along with three emojis of the Palestinian flag.

Johnson is not the first footy star to support Palestine, with Bulldogs star Josh Addo-Carr comparing the Palestinians’ struggle to that of Indigenous Australians.

In October, he shared a photo of the original flag next to the Palestinian flag along with the caption ‘ONE STRUGGLE ONE FIGHT’.

Beneath the original flag are the words ‘LAND BACK’ and the logo of the Black People’s Union (BPU), accompanied by Arabic script.

He later apologized for the message.

Earlier this year, the NRL condemned Sonny Bill after he was accused of inciting hatred on social media in relation to the Gaza war, after describing supporters of Israel as ‘Zionist cowards’ while claiming Israelis taken hostage of Hamas in the October 7 attack was addressed. well.

It led to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry telling the NRL that many members of Australia’s Jewish community were offended by his comments and asked for Williams to be counseled by the league.

NRL CEO Andrew Abdo criticized Williams’ stance in his response to the organisation.

“The NRL condemns any comment that has the effect of denying or downplaying the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, 2023, including the targeting and killing of civilians, including women and children, hostage-taking and indiscriminate fire,” Abdo wrote to News Corp, according to the statement.

Sonny Bill Williams praised Johnson after being vocal in his support for Palestine

The former All Black is a devout Muslim and has made his views clear on social media

‘The NRL does not support or endorse the comments and/or views expressed by Mr Williams in his comments recently published on Instagram and X.

“Given that Mr Williams is not bound by the NRL Rules, the NRL has no jurisdiction or mechanism to sanction or advise Mr Williams in relation to the comments he has made on social media platforms.”

Abdo went on to write that the NRL does not think it is appropriate to comment on the conflict in Gaza.

Williams has also accused the media of trying to make the ‘genocide’ of Palestinians seem ‘justified’ in the post with his ‘cowardly’ comment.

‘Wallahi (I swear by God) where is our Ummah (Muslim community)?’ he wrote.

‘Where are the so called men entrusted to stand up and fight for our voiceless – if this footage is too gruesome for you, REMEMBER these are the same people that certain sections of the media DEHUMANIZE so you believe this genocide is justified.

‘All you Zionist cowards wouldn’t last a day fighting real men face to face. God is great!!’

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said the 38-year-old was using his platform to incite hatred against fellow Australians and offered to meet Williams ‘anywhere, anytime’ to discuss the matter.

“His comments are reckless, dangerous and clearly uninformed,” Ryvchin said.

“But to his many fans and followers, they will sound convincing and will serve to incite hatred and further destabilize our fragile social cohesion.”