Players cannot put their bits on the web and expect to be protected by the vultures, groupies and catfishers who target professional sportsmen

We know footy players are young, dumb and horny but is it really too much to limit one’s dick-pic sharing activity to people you actually know and trust?

The hyperbolic may call it “victim-blaming” but it’s hard to feel much sympathy for some of the AFL players, current and former, caught up in the nude photo scandal.

One can sympathise with the younger players whose brains have not fully developed sending ill-advised dick shots, and other assorted graphic imagery to social media accounts in the hopes of scoring a hook-up.

That said, every single player on an AFL list has undergone some sort of social media training warning them of the pitfalls of engaging in this sort of conduct.

It’s time the AFL learned that this behaviour can lead to blackmail, sextortion and could threaten the integrity of the game.

It’s hard to feel much sympathy for some of the AFL players caught up in the nude photo scandal. Picture: iStock

More on that later.

They may be young, dumb and horny, but as AFL players they are also held to a different standard.

Mostly it’s upside, but there are some limitations on what they can and cannot do.

For example, they cannot put their bits on the world wide web and expect to be protected by the vultures, groupies and catfishers who target professional sportsmen.

There are claims that some of the images in the Google drive document are “fake” or “staged”, which is curious given they have been described as “a gross breach of privacy”.

There is no question that the players’ privacy has been breached, and those responsible for collecting and distributing these images have behaved reprehensibly and criminally.

There are some limitations on what AFL players can and cannot do.

That is a given; it does not change the fact that in 2023, AFL players should know better.

Sadly, there are plenty of terrible people in the world and these young men must be vigilant in protecting themselves from those with malicious intent.

But while one can understand how rookies can make such daft mistakes, it’s another thing to have seasoned AFL players – including captains, vice-captains, multiple Brownlow medallists and at least one board member – indulging in such reckless behaviour.

That some have wives and long-term girlfriends is another issue entirely.

To send nude images, and worse, to some unknown social media account with a thirst-trap profile picture is the sort of dimwitted idiocy that you’d expect from a teenager.

Is it really too much to limit one’s dick-pic sharing activity to people you actually know and trust?

That said, it’s naive to think that unworldly, testosterone-fuelled young men are not going to indulge in sexting – after all it’s behaviour that is commonplace in the digital age.

A 2021 meta-analysis of 39 studies published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, involving more than 110,000 participants from 2009 to 2015, revealed that 16 per cent of teens admit to sending a nude photo while 33 per cent said they had received one.

You can expect those numbers have increased significantly.

That’s why the AFL and its clubs has to do more to educate players, scare them silly if necessary, to reduce the likelihood of them engaging in behaviour that leaves them exposed (excuse the pun).

Cyber safety expert Susan McLean believes the players have done nothing wrong and is encouraging them to report the illegal photo sharing to police.

“The players are not at fault, as consenting adults they have a right to take images and to send to other consenting adults, but they need to consider the risks,” she said.

“The players have to personally make a complaint to police if they are serious about cracking down on this sort of behaviour.

“The issue of sextortion is huge and the primary targets are adolescent males and young men.”

The lack of official complaints by the affected players means that Victoria Police, while aware of the nude images being circulated, are not actively investigating the origins of the Google drive document.

In recent years we’ve seen images of players using illicit drugs circulate online.

There is a real risk of players being blackmailed with damaging images, whether it be nudes or drug use.

Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire believes the integrity of the competition may be under threat if players are threatened with the release of damaging pictures.

“The opportunity to blackmail players and disrupt the finals for nefarious reasons, such as match- fixing, is obvious,” he said.

“The AFL needs to address its rules and positioning to alleviate the issue of blackmailing of players.”

You can be sure of one thing, this won’t be the last time that the AFL is caught up in a nude photo scandal.