Football fans will be all too aware of the sad story of Norm Hewitt.
In case you're unfamiliar with it, here's a very brief recap of his
life...
November 11, 1968: Norm Hewitt is born.
1980s: After enduring a harsh and abusive Hawkes Bay upbringing, young
Norm is "saved" by being sent to Te Aute College, where he is bullied,
then (almost inevitably) becomes a fearsome bully himself. He is also
an outstanding footballer, and is soon the established hooker for the
Magpies. Some people note with concern that he has an unfortunate
propensity to drink prodigious amounts of alcohol and hit people, especially women.
1990s: Norm's propensity for drinking heavily and hitting people,
especially women, is indulged as his football career takes off. Pro
football starts in 1996, and Norm is at just the right place and right
time, and becomes a star for the Wellington Hurricanes in the exciting
new Super 12 competition. In the 1997 Twickenham test against England,
Norm actually gets a start. But, cruelly and unjustly, coach John Hart
yanks him off the field near the end of the game so that the injured
Sean Fitzpatrick can come on and earn yet another test cap. Norm,
understandably, refuses to greet Fitzpatrick, and storms off the field
in disappointment. Hart decides such rank insubordination will not do,
and forces Norm to make a humiliating public apology to Fitzpatrick
and the rest of the team.
Norm is the established reserve hooker for the All Blacks, but rarely
gets a start. This leads to an unseemly street fight in1998 with
England hooker Richard Cockerell, after Cockerell taunts him about his
reserve status by asking: "How do you get the splinters out of your
arse?" On another occasion, after drinking alcohol to an insane level,
Norm breaks into a house accidentally, via a plate-glass door. He
nearly bleeds to death, but he is saved, and days later is forced by
John Hart to make a public, televised, apology for his behaviour. Norm
complies, weeping copiously on live television. He moves to the Deep
South and plays for Southland in the NPC. While there, a violent
incident takes place in his Gore home, involving heavy drinking and
the physical abuse of prostitutes.
2000s: In 2001 his biography Gladiator by Michael Laws is a
critically acclaimed best-seller. It's not a bad read, but it's
incomplete---there is nothing about the bashing of young women in that
party at his Gore home in the late '90s. In 2005, Norm wins the NZ
version of Dancing with the Stars, with an audience-pleasing haka as
part of his routine.
Otherwise, little is heard from Norm, other than his support act for
his brother Robert, a navy diver who became an international celebrity
after surviving several days floating in the sea after an accident.
THIS MORNING....
He's baaaaaaaaaaaaackkk!!!! For some arcane reason, in her wisdom,
Social Welfare minister Paula Bennett has seen fit to appoint Norm
Hewitt as a "Children's Champion". What the hell does THAT mean, and
what possible expertise does Norm Hewitt bring to the role?
Well, not a lot, if you listened to him being interviewed on National
Radio this morning....
Hewitt spoke at a glacial pace, which to some people may suggest that
he's still drinking to the level of his window-smashing, woman-bashing
days. I think that it's more likely to be that Norm has undergone some
serious PR training, and thinks that he establishes his mana if he
talks at the speed of an oil tanker inching into dock.
But no matter how slowly he speaks, there's little chance anyone will
take him seriously when he says things like this: "There are ahhhhmmm always some key learnings, for instance, ahhhhmmmmm, not holding public meetings for abuse victims, when they might be frightened of exposure."
In other words, he knows absolutely nothing about how to deal with
this vital issue. Which raises serious questions not so much about
him, but about the sincerity and competence of Paula Bennett.
In case you're unfamiliar with it, here's a very brief recap of his
life...
November 11, 1968: Norm Hewitt is born.
1980s: After enduring a harsh and abusive Hawkes Bay upbringing, young
Norm is "saved" by being sent to Te Aute College, where he is bullied,
then (almost inevitably) becomes a fearsome bully himself. He is also
an outstanding footballer, and is soon the established hooker for the
Magpies. Some people note with concern that he has an unfortunate
propensity to drink prodigious amounts of alcohol and hit people, especially women.
1990s: Norm's propensity for drinking heavily and hitting people,
especially women, is indulged as his football career takes off. Pro
football starts in 1996, and Norm is at just the right place and right
time, and becomes a star for the Wellington Hurricanes in the exciting
new Super 12 competition. In the 1997 Twickenham test against England,
Norm actually gets a start. But, cruelly and unjustly, coach John Hart
yanks him off the field near the end of the game so that the injured
Sean Fitzpatrick can come on and earn yet another test cap. Norm,
understandably, refuses to greet Fitzpatrick, and storms off the field
in disappointment. Hart decides such rank insubordination will not do,
and forces Norm to make a humiliating public apology to Fitzpatrick
and the rest of the team.
Norm is the established reserve hooker for the All Blacks, but rarely
gets a start. This leads to an unseemly street fight in1998 with
England hooker Richard Cockerell, after Cockerell taunts him about his
reserve status by asking: "How do you get the splinters out of your
arse?" On another occasion, after drinking alcohol to an insane level,
Norm breaks into a house accidentally, via a plate-glass door. He
nearly bleeds to death, but he is saved, and days later is forced by
John Hart to make a public, televised, apology for his behaviour. Norm
complies, weeping copiously on live television. He moves to the Deep
South and plays for Southland in the NPC. While there, a violent
incident takes place in his Gore home, involving heavy drinking and
the physical abuse of prostitutes.
2000s: In 2001 his biography Gladiator by Michael Laws is a
critically acclaimed best-seller. It's not a bad read, but it's
incomplete---there is nothing about the bashing of young women in that
party at his Gore home in the late '90s. In 2005, Norm wins the NZ
version of Dancing with the Stars, with an audience-pleasing haka as
part of his routine.
Otherwise, little is heard from Norm, other than his support act for
his brother Robert, a navy diver who became an international celebrity
after surviving several days floating in the sea after an accident.
THIS MORNING....
He's baaaaaaaaaaaaackkk!!!! For some arcane reason, in her wisdom,
Social Welfare minister Paula Bennett has seen fit to appoint Norm
Hewitt as a "Children's Champion". What the hell does THAT mean, and
what possible expertise does Norm Hewitt bring to the role?
Well, not a lot, if you listened to him being interviewed on National
Radio this morning....
Hewitt spoke at a glacial pace, which to some people may suggest that
he's still drinking to the level of his window-smashing, woman-bashing
days. I think that it's more likely to be that Norm has undergone some
serious PR training, and thinks that he establishes his mana if he
talks at the speed of an oil tanker inching into dock.
But no matter how slowly he speaks, there's little chance anyone will
take him seriously when he says things like this: "There are ahhhhmmm always some key learnings, for instance, ahhhhmmmmm, not holding public meetings for abuse victims, when they might be frightened of exposure."
In other words, he knows absolutely nothing about how to deal with
this vital issue. Which raises serious questions not so much about
him, but about the sincerity and competence of Paula Bennett.
Click here to Reply
 |
> THIS MORNING....
> He's baaaaaaaaaaaaackkk!!!! For some arcane reason, in her wisdom,
> Social Welfare minister Paula Bennett has seen fit to appoint Norm
> Hewitt as a "Children's Champion". What the hell does THAT mean, and
> what possible expertise does Norm Hewitt bring to the role?
If this bozo is a former school bully, then that alone makes him the worse> He's baaaaaaaaaaaaackkk!!!! For some arcane reason, in her wisdom,
> Social Welfare minister Paula Bennett has seen fit to appoint Norm
> Hewitt as a "Children's Champion". What the hell does THAT mean, and
> what possible expertise does Norm Hewitt bring to the role?
possible choice as children's champion.
|
- show quoted text -
Interestingly, his biographer Michael Laws suffered at the hands of
people like Hewitt when he was at high school.
|
- show quoted text -
Whites
Stex
|
On Feb 24, 1:32 pm, Stex <stex2...@yahoo.com> is a tad bewildered:
What? Do you think he was a pro snooker player, perhaps?
>
> if he couldn't even make the All Whites
To my knowledge, Norm Hewitt never even tried to play for Swansea.
Surely it's a bit soon for you to be drinking so heavily.
- show quoted text -
>
> if he couldn't even make the All Whites
Surely it's a bit soon for you to be drinking so heavily.
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