Canberra Raiders and Australian rugby league star Joel Monaghan is under investigation after a photo emerged showing him in a compromising position with a dog.
Monaghan described the incident as a “simulated act” meant to be a prank.
“Joel can’t blame anyone but himself for an act of stupidity that will haunt him for the rest of his life,” manager Jim Banaghan said in a statement.
“Joel wants to make it clear that he was the one playing a prank on an absent team mate by simulating the act.
“There are no words of explanation that can be offered because none can be appropriate.
“Joel has to now face his family as well as fans and supporters with that shame and has already undergone counselling to help him cope with the consequences of what has happened.”
Raiders Chief Executive Officer Don Furner said an investigation was underway.
“If he did it, it is something he will live with for the rest of his life,” Furner told a media conference.
“We don’t know whether it’s authentic but I am as appalled as everyone else.
“If he did do it, I don’t know why he would do it.”
The incident reportedly happened during the Raiders’ Mad Monday celebrations following their finals loss to Wests Tigers.
The NRL says it will await the outcome of the Raiders investigation.
The photo was reportedly posted on the internet on Monday before being taken down by the Melbourne radio station that had put it online.
The action was too late with the image being re-posted through Twitter.
Banaghan attacked those who had sent the image through cyberspace.
“The fact that someone has sought to compound the situation further by the use of social media only adds to the trauma,” he said.
Banaghan added Monaghan was not “in a fit state” emotionally following the release of the image and would not be able to immediately meet with the club.
“He apologises unreservedly for the outrage that people feel at the moment and blames nobody but himself,” he said.
“Joel is a genuinely good person who is simply shattered by a moment of sheer madness.”
Animal welfare groups were outraged, saying if the image was accurate it was very worrying.
“The guy needs help,” an Animal Liberation ACT spokesman told AAP.
Canberra’s RSPCA chief Michael Linke said the association was “disgusted and sickened”.
“It is undignified and it’s completely disrespectful to an animal let alone a home pet,” he said.
Mr Linke called on the territory’s Labor government to immediately introduce laws that would make the alleged behaviour illegal.
“No laws have been broken and that’s the sad thing about this.”
jeremy
Roar Pro
Oh the learned responses from internet league white knights dashing to their code's rescue without doing any research first. Read this site: http://www.gatesfoundation.org then please tell me how rugby league benefits people on this scale, then stop using a foundation which actually tries to help people as a counterpoint to the NRL, which lurches from crisis to crisis with the grace of a drunken elderly elephant missing half a leg.
Rusty
Guest
Christines? Christians? opposite sex = dogs?
Rusty
Guest
... well, not that you remember anyway
Rusty
Guest
Can you blokes learn how to spell "naive" please
Mr Cool
Guest
What's the big deal, it is Canberra and look closer, -- the dog was molesting him!!. Pathetic hey!. I Think I saw the guy who's party it was, he had his pic in the telegraph after the Storm game.
FabFairy
Guest
Not one of Joels better choices in life. I have seen worse and it looks like being Mad Monday hasn't really changed dispite the bleaking of the NRL that the culture has changed. Tho this is disturbing what I find more disturbing is the behaviour of Joels Teammates to allow such silly behaviour to be posted on the internet in the first place and hang him out to dry. Joel what has been shown to you in a very painful way is how some of your teammates view you and they are less than honest so much for good old team spirit.
InReality
Guest
Clipper, a booze up does not include wine and cheeses… The bloke was simulating beastiality, I’ve seen much worse things at various booze-ups done to other people…
Mick
Guest
Dumm dubba durr. Why don't you go look at a dog's mouth and front teeth and engage your own grey matter? Of course it was simulated.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Funny thing KOG no one has supported the idiot for what he did.He has fallen on his sword. In fact.your comments about lunatics(ie those of us rl supporters in a rl forum) and 12 year olds,suggest you have little contact with rugby league people involved in development,and only reaffirms the trolling aspect.Those are the same attitudes that drove me away from union years ago,and appears they haven't changed .Keep up the good work. It is in order to criticise justifiably for any misconduct,but to do so out of it appears spite or just plain dislike for the game is kidsstuff. The comment about league not expanding globally because of these incidents,is absolute poppycock.Has it stopped grassroots growth in Wales or England? No.You can do better than that puerile arguement champ. PeterK Scoop! any report in the media can be 2nd or 3rd hand.It does not therefore by definition, mean it is incorrect. It was reported by a respected man in the ARU to Ackford.No one involved in the publictaion or refernce, stands to benefit in so doing,if it were rubbish.They would be sued. Why would the head body want to create a public scene.As Greg Growden in the SMH once wrote,there were many incidents involved that were swept under the carpet..It was never brought out into the open,so naturally there were no dramas. Here here you go again,you use the term a "lot"can't stop ,a lot of cases.Please spell out examples of a lot,or maybe it is just a few.I repeat there are over 800 players involved from under 20s to NRL.I consider a lot to be say 20%.in any year. Binge drinking is a problem for society for youth 12 months of the year.I can assure you in my teenage years,the ru boys could knock them(beers0 down better than most.
King of the Gorgonites
Roar Guru
Your a kinder man then I. i better not stop these lunatics off, before they start blaming the facists!
rugbyfuture
Roar Guru
even i would refute that KoG
King of the Gorgonites
Roar Guru
For those who wonder why RL never expanded globally - the answer is simply that the world did not want to be part of the grubby culture that league abounds in. time for the NRL to wake up. when you take a 12 year old male to a sporting school and tell him he is special, give him no academic training, then no wonder when he turns out to be a feral pervert. league is reaping what it sowed.
robbie
Guest
I think we have forgotten something here. There is another victim. The dog. He didn't ring. He didn't call. She was expecting to go to the Daly Ms. (Does Hollywood tape stick to fur?)
MyGeneration
Roar Guru
I also think you might be underestimating the amount of "obscene depravity" already on display by sports starts round the world on the web. The web is the world's most efficient conduit of whatever passes for obscene depravity these days, after all. From what I'm led to believe, "exposure" is the right word in this case, however :-). I'm not depraved enough to actually get on my high horse and look for the photo(s), unlike a lot of hard-working moralists around the place.
Wavell Hinds
Guest
I should have prefaced my comments by mentioning the vast efforts made by the codes to gain international exposure for the right reasons but to no avail. You're right, its not actually irony notwithstanding Alanis Morissette's loose interpretation of the word!
MyGeneration
Roar Guru
I don't think you understand irony. Irony is a sexless game like golf having it's most conspicuous representative revealed to be a sex addict!
Wavell Hinds
Guest
I didn't shun rugby after Marc Cecillion was convicted of murdering his wife and another player, Bee Roux, was charged with murder earlier this year. Every sport has its share of reprobates.
Wavell Hinds
Guest
Isn't it ironic that the only time that Australia's domestic sporting competitions get any publicity overseas is when a player commits an act of obscene depravity? Of course everybody remembers John Hopoate and he was preceded by the testicle-biting AFL-player Peter Filandia. If the A-League wants to make a name for itself perhaps it needs to follow suit?
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
That is one neat way of looking at it.Then again Ackford would be looking a tad silly going into print,to make such an accusation,with the details ending up in a tabloid news paper.I tend to follow the view of where there is smoke.Then again people made comments on unsubstantiated accusations re Stewart.And they have now ducked for cover. The video one is obvious,no argument from me on that one. If you are into statistics,which I believe you are,the I commend the following sourced from govt re alcohol abuse in Australia. 1 in 8 adults drinks at risky high levels. It has in fact increased from 8.2% in 95 to 13.4% in 2004/5. the actual source http://www.dasc.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=88 17.2% of males 20-29 were the most likely to consume at high risk levels. If rl players drink(high risk) at that ratio,throughout the year,I would be highly surprised.They would not last long in first grade or the under 20s.so much for generalising.
Springs
Guest
Yet you expect us to believe that 'statistically' there is more of an alcohol problem in the NRL than Australia generally. Even though you provide no actual stats, and no link to any actual stats.