Footy stars’ incredible response to tragic video of bully victim
The relentless bullying of a nine-year-old Indigenous boy has prompted some of NRL’s biggest stars to show their support.
Quaden Bayles’ mother, Yarraka, took to social media to share a video of her son visibly distraught after suffering from ongoing bullying – something she said happens “every single freakin’ day”.
In the video, Quaden admits that he wants to take his own life, with Yarraka revealing to NITV that he has made attempts in the past.
The article identities Quaden as a Murri boy and said he was born with Achondroplasia, which is the most common form of dwarfism. Speaking to NITV, his mother said that on the day in question she saw him being teased for his height.
“There’s no escaping it, this is our reality,” said Yarraka in the video.
“I used to tell him just ignore it; well no, f***ing ignoring it doesn’t solve the problem. How does that address bullying if you choose to ignore it?
“It needs to be addressed straight away and that’s exactly what I’m doing now. Every time it happens, I’ll be doing a live video so that people know. So hopefully we can make some changes so that this doesn’t happen to another family and hopefully we don’t lost another young innocent life to bullying.”
She released a statement, saying “bullying has to stop” and thanking people from “all around the world” for their support after the video garnered 4 million views on Facebook only a short while after posting.
“Due to the large volume of messages, we are unable to respond to everyone at this time as we need time to process as a family and would like to ask that media respect the family’s wishes, they are not taking calls and will be speaking to First Nations Media only at this time,” a statement read.
“Again, thank you everyone, Quaden’s feeling the love and now he needs a good rest.
“We are meeting with the appropriate people in power to make changes and make a stand against bullying.”
With the NRL All Stars game between an Indigenous and a Maori side to be played on Saturday night, the Indigenous All Stars reached out, asking the Brisbane boy to lead them only to the field on the Gold Coast.
The team posted a video to Twitter, with South Sydney Rabbitohs star Latrell Mitchell, who met Quaden back in 2016 at the Koori Knockout rugby league carnival, doing the talking.
The Indigenous #NRLAllStars are behind you Quaden! 👊🏽❤️ pic.twitter.com/52RLy8SrSd
— NRL (@NRL) February 20, 2020
“Hey Quadey, how you going, cuz?” he addressed the boy who he said is a “little super hero” after their meeting in 2016.
“Just want to wish you all the best, brother. We know you’re going through a hard time right now but the boys are here, we got your back, we’re here to support you, bud. And we just want to make sure that you’re doing alright.
“Your mum’s on your side, we’re on your side and [we want to] make sure you’re thinking the right things, bud, because we want you around.
“We want you to lead us out on the weekend. It’s gonna mean more to us that it will to you, bud. So just make sure you’re looking after yourself and hopefully we get to see you in the next couple of days.”