Sport Line News

The scandal could not have come for a worst time for the NRL. A week before the start of the 2009 NRL Rugby League season and Brett Stewart, the face of the NRL league is charged with sexual assault. As the NRL rugby is all too well aware, no amount of good publicity and fantastic NRL results can erase the stench an incident such as this occurs.

The media thrives on these types of stories. Players get up to mischief all the time and sometimes the clubs are able to intervene before the story gets out of hand. They nip it in the bud or try and brush it under the carpet so you never hear about it. Not this time.

Some people are calling for an alcohol ban; that players shouldn't go out to pubs and clubs. The fact of the matter is that the players need to be sensible enough to realize that prevention is better than cure. As athletes and celebrities they have a target on their back when they go out in public, even more so when it's to places where alcohol is involved. They need to be discreet where they don't have to worry about people trying to bait or provoke them. Even if it's their fault, the only thing that makes news is that a celebrity was involved. It might be unfair, but some may say loss of privacy is a fair price to pay for the huge pay check in return.