Whether they want to be or not, they are role models to the kids out there who idolise them and every time they act up, they are damaging their sport. 

Even for league tragics it is getting harder to defend the game to people who do not follow it when a player is in the headlines every other week for an off-field incident. 

With the ongoing controversy with ASADA, the last thing the NRL and the Cronulla Sharks needed was for a photo of one of their best players urinating into his own mouth to appear on social media. 

It is the third time Todd Carney has been sacked by an NRL club and while it would be a shame if a player with his ability is lost to the game, he is a repeat offender and has had enough chances. 

Carney has come out and said it was intended as a prank and never thought it would go public, but in the era of smartphones, players need to be more careful. 

If they are out in public doing silly things, we will find out about it. 

Alcohol is clearly the problem with Todd Carney, who has never had a reputation of being a dirty player on the field. 

But what some of sports stars are getting up to on the field is much worse than what they are doing off it.  Luis Suarez’s World Cup bite is an example.

Most people play sport without being paid a cent because they love the game.

So if the elite players want to continue making millions, it is time they stopped feasting on other players or their own urine. 

Parents should not be left to explain why their children’s heroes are acting like idiots.