In our culture, sex and power are rarely as simple as 'yes' or 'no'

As predatory as Samantha is, the subtext is always plain to see. She fears intimacy. Her promiscuity is about retaining control and not being vulnerable to rejection. As feisty and horny as she is – she’s still human – and all humans deep down crave acceptance and unconditional love. While we may admire Sam for flashing her boobies at anyone with a hard-on, at the same time we feel a little bit sorry for her – especially those of us who have (finally) outgrown their fear of intimacy. Never, at any stage, are Samantha’s motives for anonymous sex blamed on her hatred of men.

And there it is – the ultimate irony. Sex is supposed to be an act of intimacy, yet I’m prepared to admit that I have had more sex in my life trying to avoid intimacy I than to actively engage in it. In wearing my sexuality on my sleeve, I was also hiding behind it – until recently. I have no end of sympathy for the female victim of the incident involving the Bulldogs, but sexual abuse of women is not a new thing and nor is not exclusive to sportsmen. It’s simply something that has been tolerated for far too long while we wait for certain sections of the human race to evolve. There are victims on both sides. Do all the bozos who have played stupid sex games on tour feel good about themselves afterwards? I’d certainly like some of them to come forward and tell us (like that would happen).

The sexually-oriented culture among elite sportsmen is a symptom of our society’s dependence on sexual attractiveness as a means of acquiring self-esteem, and an over-abundance of hero-worship. For every famous sportsman who uses women gratuitously, there are women lining up to have sex with him.

While a few footballers also happen to be male chauvinist pigs, the problem is not exclusive to sport. It’s endemic in society as a whole. I was raped – no question about it – but there was also something terribly tragic in the fact that I was heedlessly throwing myself at that guy in the first place.

Apparently some educational strategy is going to be put in place to “clean up the game of Rugby League” but why stop there? It’s a problem that needs attention on both sides of the equation. Start the program in high schools so we can stop the rot before it starts.