Team sports especially lead to a group mentality where the individual loses their identity and becomes another person in effect, simply an extension of the group ‘intention’ so-to-speak. Thus, such phrases such as ‘what happens on tour, stays on tour’ effectively relay the hush-hush world and tight-knit fraternity of sports teams and their changing-room mentalities.

Similarly, this extends to sororities also, as it’s more down to particular personality types which are more common in team sports than down to particular genders, per-se.

The drinking culture which accompanies most team sports particularly at amateur and semi-professional level allows inhibitions to take a back seat and urges to come to the fore, and with the promise of mutual discretion to/from teammates, it is not surprising that this occurs at the top level…in fact, it undoubtedly happens more-so then we ever find out about-taking into account that we only found out about the John Terry situation given the fact that a pre-existing gagging order was then nullified by a judge.

Should we really be holding our sportspersons to a higher moral standard than that to which we hold ourselves?

Do we even hold ourselves to sufficient a moral standard? Honestly?

Footballers have always been attributed with the fame of:

Bed-hopping (George ‘they-said-I-slept-with-7-Miss-Worlds-but-it-was-only-3′ Best),

Booze-fuelled (England squad’s ‘Dentist Chair’ partying pre-Euro ‘96, re-enacted by Paul Gascoigne in hius goal celebration after his solo effort vs. Scotland)

100mph lifestyles (sometimes ending in the occasional write-off, Cristiano, or a conviction for drink-driving, Jermaine Pennant),

Sexually adventurous (Stan Collymore and his dogging activities, the infamous West Ham sex tape scandal years ago),

…to not mention a particular South American national team manager overstepping the line with cocaine during his playing days, and even allegedly taking a false penis with him into a drugs test in order to pass, as well as other players who ‘forget’ to stay for a drugs test, and manage to eventually become captain for both club and, more recently, country.

If these are the things we know about…imagine what may have/has happened that we’ll never get to hear of….