Blues CEO Michael Redman says that star player Sonny Bill Williams will continue to play for the team, but will be taped over with thick black tape during upcoming fixtures.

The move comes as a result of continuing controversy over Williams’ decision to tape over two bank logos (those of BNZ and Investec) on his playing jersey earlier this month.

Redman acknowledged that the controversy had “died down” somewhat, but the Blues had not played in a couple of weeks, and he did not want it to “reignite” when they play the Brumbies in Canberra on Sunday.

“As far as we’re concerned, we don’t want this coming up again,” he said. “It’s been talked about enough, and frankly, at this point, it’s an internal matter.

“But we are also aware that when Sonny Bill goes out there on Sunday, all eyes will be on him, all eyes will be on his jersey.”

The team had concluded after “extensive discussion” that the “only” reasonable solution was to tape over Sonny Bill entirely, “so no one will see him, or even know that it’s him.”

Asked whether it would be obvious that it was Sonny Bill by virtue of him being the only player stumbling around in tape unable to see two feet in front of him, Redman replied “Not necessarily.”

“You never know,” he said. “Sure, you could assume it’s him, but if you can’t see him, you never really know. It’s like Schrodinger’s cat. You know, in the sense that, when the tape comes off, he could very well be dead.”

Following that statement, the Blues have made a decision to tape over two additional players to make things a “little less obvious” and “admittedly, because we’ve run out of money to pay sponsors for all 15 players.”

As the Blues continue to languish at the bottom of the New Zealand conference, there are indications things may be escalating this evening, with initial reports that several other players are now taping over their Blues logos as a conscientious objection to people knowing they play for the Blues.