A tough year... but Hewitt after taking stand against Would do it again social media trolls
ASHTON Hewitt has been through a lot this past year, with plenty of highs and lows both on and off the field.
But given the chance he would do it all again.
The Dragons winger has had an outstanding season, beating more defenders (52) than anyone else in the PRO14 and crossing for seven tries in all competitions, with some highclass finishes along the way.
His performances had placed him firmly in contention for a first Wales cap during this summer’s international programme, only for disaster to strike with a devastating knee injury that will keep him out of action until 2022.
Hewitt’s profile has also increased significantly away from the pitch, via his public fight against all forms of racism.
That has seen him come in for abuse from social media trolls and occasionally led him to question whether he would be best off just keeping his head down.
But he has refused to be bowed, with the countless positive messages he has received, particularly from youngsters, keeping him going.
It was in June of last year that he decided the time had come for him to speak out.
That followed an abusive comment made to Welsh sprinter Sam Gordon after the athlete had talked about the racism he had encountered growing up.
For Hewitt, it was a turning point moment. His very public fight against racism was under way.
“It’s something I’ve always been passionate about because of my own experiences,” he explained.
“But it’s something people hadn’t really seen me being vocal on because I wasn’t a huge user of social media and things like that.
“I fell into it in terms of sticking up for something and somebody that I knew on Twitter who was receiving abuse.
“A troll was telling Sam Gordon that he didn’t look Welsh.
“I felt I needed to defend him and say something.
“Then that targeted the abuse at me and with that sort of came a moment of ‘Do you know what? I need to speak up more because people need to know what’s going on.’ “People aren’t aware of it. “It’s important to recognise that it’s all right for athletes, rugby players, whoever, to talk about things they are passionate about and things that affect them.
“So, I made a conscious effort to go down the route that I have.”
The Newport born-and-raised Hewitt admits it hasn’t always been easy, with the abuse he has received.
“Sometimes it gets to you and you have your five minutes off social media,” he said.
“But it was never enough to completely deter me from speaking out.
“It’s important people keep talking about it and keep challenging people and standing up and saying stuff.
“There are times when you think ‘Is it worth it, I’m not getting anywhere, I’m better off just shutting up.’
“But, on the whole, the positives of speaking about stuff and the conversations that have come of that outweigh just cracking on with things and burying my head in the sand.
“If I had my time again, I would do the same.”
It was following an exchange with controversial right-wing commentator Katie Hopkins that Hewitt’s profile moved up to another level again.
It emerged Hopkins was banned from Twitter over a message she sent to the Dragons speedster because it violated their rules against hateful conduct.
“That was a bit of a weird one,” says Hewitt, looking back.
“Obviously, because of her profile, everybody sort of jumped on it and it became a news story in itself.
“A lot of people who wanted me to speak about it were talking about it away from the issue.
“They were just speaking about it because it was Katie Hopkins.
“So, I had a bit of frustration over that.
“People were treating it more as gossip and a big story than acknowledging the issue.
“My view was someone like her shouldn’t have the platform if she is going to say the things that she says.”
But, while there have been frustrations and challenging times along the way, what has really buoyed Hewitt is the mass of positive feedback he has received over his stance against racism.
“I couldn’t put a number on the messages I have had,” said the 26-year-old.
“The support has been overwhelming and amazing and outweighs all of the negatives so much, especially the messages from young kids.
“I am getting classrooms full of children sending me letters and pictures.
“It’s hugely rewarding and it just goes to show how important it all is because you’ve got these kids experiencing the same sort of things, experiencing racism in varying degrees.
“When you speak to these kids, they are dealing with a lot of these issues and it’s just horrible to see.
“So, the joy you see in them have when they can see somebody who is sticking up for them or speaking about their experiences is amazing.
“And they are arguably the most important generation to influence.
“The feedback I have had from them is just amazing.”
So, does he feel the last year has changed him at all?
“I am still the same person, just more out there,” he said. “People probably know me better and know the sort of person I am, whereas before they might not have, unless they had met me or known me personally.
“A lot of people know me away from the rugby side of things now and know my morals and some of my experiences and how that has moulded me as a person.
“I think I am the same person. I just think more people are seeing it.
“People are seeing me more as a person now, rather than just a rugby player and a winger. “Everything is not about rugby. “Rugby players are people as well and they have experiences outside of the game.
“It should be acceptable for them to have their opinions on stuff and express themselves how they want to express themselves.
“For me, rugby isn’t the be-all-andend-all because, at the end of the day, it’s not going to last forever.
“People just need to have the confidence to be themselves and express that.”
Back on the rugby front, Hewitt was absolutely flying going into this month, as he demonstrated with two more tries in the Challenge Cup tie against Northampton at Rodney Parade. But it was in claiming the second of those touchdowns in trademark predatory fashion that he was to suffer his nightmare injury.
“I knew something had happened. I wasn’t quite sure what,” he said. “It’s the first knee injury I’ve had. “I didn’t know what was going on, but I knew something was pretty wrong. So I was pretty concerned straightaway, to be honest. I knew it wasn’t good.”
The diagnosis confirmed as much – a high grade medial ligament tear and a complete cruciate ligament rupture.
An operation followed a fortnight ago and Hewitt now faces a long road back to recovery.
“The surgeon has said about nine months before returning to play,” he confirms. “It’s just so frustrating.
“I was finding a bit of form and gaining some momentum.
“I think I was in a good place and contributing well to the team.
“I had decent stats. I think I was putting in solid performances.
“Hopefully those performances were making people consider me, but it is what it is.
“I have dealt with injuries before and it’s similar in terms of timing. It’s just a case of making sure the knee settles in terms of swelling for now. Everything is going well on that front.
“I had a catch-up with the surgeon this week and he was more than happy with where I’m at.
“I’m limited to what I can do for the next few weeks. Then I can start ramping it up and getting some serious rehab done.
“I will take it as it comes, but I am probably looking at around January 2022.”
His enforced break has given him an opportunity to reflect on what has been a pretty remarkable 12 months in his life.
“The experiences of the year on the whole, it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster,” he said.
“The emotions have been up and down.
“If you look at it from when I am speaking about racism, it definitely got low when you are receiving abuse on social media.
“But then you get picked up by all the positivity that comes your way from kids, from conversations with team-mates and people you come across on social media.
“That balances itself and then obviously you’ve got the highs and lows of rugby, of playing well and then ending up with an injury, which is always frustrating. It’s just life really, isn’t it? You have just got to crack on.”
That’s precisely what he will do, both with his battle back to fitness and his battle against racism.
“Seeing the impact you can have outside of rugby is hugely rewarding,” he said.
“A lot of the time it can be more rewarding than the game itself when it comes to things as important as kids dealing with racism.
“It’s been nice to have a balance and be able to separate my life in that way.”