Taylan May’s dad reveals his greatest regret as footy bad boy returns to childhood home where they grew up in poverty
The father of NRL bad boy Taylan May believes there is still hope for the fallen footy star despite domestic violence charges in court in 2025.
The May family grew up in the western Sydney suburb of Tragear, near Mount Druitt.
But all three brothers, Tyrone, Terrell and Taylan, made it to the NRL – largely thanks to the brutal training their father Jay gave them to escape poverty.
Despite all three reaching the NRL, it was still a bumpy road.
Tyrone was sacked by the Penrith Panthers in 2021 after pleading guilty to four charges of recording intimate images without consent and then posting them on social media. He now plays for Hull KR in the UK Super League.
The youngest of the brothers, Taylan, has been dismissed under the NRL’s ‘no-fault stand-down’ policy and will appear in court on March 10 to answer charges that he assaulted his wife.
Jay is the father of current and former NRL players Tyrone, Terrell and Taylan Man
Taylan faces domestic violence charges in court in 2025 and has been withdrawn by the NRL until the case is concluded
Taylan, Tyrone, Jay and Terrell return to their family home in Tragear in Sydney’s west
Then Terrell faced a social media storm when he was released by the Sydney Roosters. He has since signed for Wests Tigers.
Despite all the hardships, Terrell loves his family and reunited the brothers and his father to visit their childhood home for his latest YouTube video.
In the video, Jay reveals the brutal training he put the boys through almost every day at Tragear Hill.
Jay has previously said he and the boy’s mother, Sally, believed there were only three ways out of Tragear: make the NRL, find a 9-to-5 job or go to prison.
“It wasn’t easy, but I did it out of love,” he said.
“Everyone thinks I trained you because I wanted you to make it to the NRL, but that’s never been the case,” he said.
“The truth is, I just wanted to be with you guys.”
Jay revealed the shame he and Sally felt about their situation, with the May brothers often going to school hungry despite both working.
Terrell and Taylan May with their mother Sally from their childhood growing up in Tragear
Jay with his sons Tyrone, Terrell and Taylan who grew up hard in a low-income suburb
“The money was obviously tough, but we lived in the housing committee, so we can’t complain,” he said.
‘The rent in the houses is quite cheap.
“The conditions aren’t the best, you know, it’s full of asbestos and stuff like that.
“Sometimes it was difficult because sometimes they would skip a meal or two and not bring much lunch to school.
“We didn’t really have time to prepare lunch or do that because we were running in and out.
‘They were only young, so we felt bad about it. But it was just one of those things. You have to go through it if you live a little poorer than everyone else.
‘But we never complained about it and it was never an excuse for them not to go to school, to have a bad attitude or to think the world was against them.
Taylan May is the youngest of the brothers. Growing up, he was quietly a favorite in his father’s eyes for his tenacity despite his small stature, earning the name Tiny.
Taylan May has parted ways with the Penrith Panthers and cannot register to play for another team until his court case is completed
However, the recent accusations and charges against Taylan have soured their relationship.
“Tiny was born facing the ceiling and I thought we would have a strong bond for the rest of our lives,” Jay said.
“Now that he’s become a man, we’ve had our problems.
“But I know in a few years, when he’s 25, 26, he’ll realize that I wasn’t just trying to teach him things, I wasn’t trying to be bad to him.
“I was just trying to tell him the right things to do in life.
‘You often don’t want to listen to your parents when you get older and unfortunately for Tiny, he hasn’t listened to me lately.
“But I’m still proud of him and I hope he gets through all the things and makes it to the other side and becomes the man I know he can become.
“But I love him just the same.”
Terrell Harrison was given a shock release by the Sydney Roosters and has now signed for Wests Tigers
Jay also expressed his biggest regrets about the tough training he put the boys through.
As Tyrone and Taylan piled on the pressure and pushed harder to succeed, Terrell was cut from a different cloth.
Jay admitted that he should have gone easier on the middle brother, who looked more like his Samoan mother than his Australian father.
“It was borderline bullying on my part,” he said.
‘If I could have changed anything about my time growing up with him, it would have been the fact that I would have had to treat him more calmly.
‘Everyone has a different personality. I pushed Tyrone and Tiny because they wanted to be pushed. They could handle the pushing.
“But Tyrell couldn’t. If I’m honest, I should have approached Tyrell differently because he’s a different person.
Jay is grateful that Terrell has grown into the kind-hearted man he has become, calling him the “gentle giant” of the family.
“Terrell has always been the one who wants everyone to be together, he’s really family oriented,” he said.
“If there’s a real Samoan in my house, it’s his mother and him. He is more Samoan than the other two.
‘The other two are fake Samoans, that’s for sure.
“They grew up more like me, Aussie. But Terrell always wanted the family to be together.
‘He was a caring person, but when he snaps, it’s time to run.
“He’s a gentle giant, but if he gets angry, especially if you say something about his mother, it’s over.”