Players need crucial off-field behaviour education

The teenager’s burst of media stardom is an attention-getting sideshow to the real issue - why do our sportsmen feel a need to collect sleazy images of one another and store them in places where they can be copied or stolen by others?

At the same time it is grossly unfair for players charged with offences to be disciplined or even sacked by their clubs, before their matter has been heard by the courts. The presumption of innocence applies to everyone and clubs that regard themselves as courts and penalise players are in breach of a player’s basic rights.

It’s all very well for clubs to go on a witch hunt after an incident but It’s better for everyone if clubs can make sure off-field incidents don’t occur at all.

There is immense public pressure on our young sportsmen. Whether they like it or not, they are role models to young people in the community and this brings sometimes unfair expectations upon them of how they should behave when they are out in public.

We need a culture where clubs regard their players as a 365 day a year responsibility, and not just people you focus on during training or a game.