Canberra Raiders player Joel Monaghan at Raiders HQ at Belconnen. "[Former NRL player turned Triple M presenter] Mark Geyer's response to my tweet definitely spread the word," he said in an email interview. "After copping numerous threats I removed all pics from Twitter but left them on Twitpic." This morning the picture had also been removed from WyattRoyMP's Twitpic account, although many duplicates have been spreading around the web. Canberra Raiders chief executive Don Furner said yesterday he was appalled and dumbfounded by the image but appeared to blame the saga partly on social media.

"The perils of the media and social media today are a great example of why you shouldn't do it," he said. But WyattRoyMP, who claims to possess other photos of Monaghan, said he published them only after failing to obtain a response from Furner. He said Monaghan's actions were inexcusable. "The reason I decided to post the picture was to highlight the issue of animal cruelty. Whether it be an average Joe or NRL star, what took place in the picture is wrong," he said. "After nothing was done regarding my concerns I decided to use Twitter to voice my concern. "I think this situation shows that a lot of damage can be done in a very short time via social media and, in some ways, it has become the first point of call for people wanting the latest info."

Social media advisor Ian Lyons, who was previously the social media director for digital marketing agency Amnesia Razorfish, said technology had fundamentally changed how quickly information can spread. "Certainly for celebrities keeping things hidden is nowhere near as easy as it used to be. I thought Tiger Woods did a miraculous job of keeping his indiscretions quiet for so long," he said in a phone interview. "For everyone who wants to hide things there's someone who wants to leak it and if there's an ounce of truth then it will very quickly spread." Lyons said Monaghan did the right thing by coming out and admitting the authenticity of the photo early, arguing it was impossible to "lie and spin our way out of these things any more". "You'll find that there are people who are highly motivated to weed out lies. Essentially if they're able to prove that you're lying, then that gives them a lot of social currency and that motivates them to really dig and investigate and prod," he said.

Bestiality is not illegal in the ACT but the RSPCA has described the photo as "sickening and disgusting" and has reportedly written a letter to ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope demanding similar acts be outlawed in the future. There is no mention of bestiality in the ACT Crimes Act but in the NSW Crimes Act those who commit an act of bestiality with any animal are liable to imprisonment for 14 years. An ACT Policing spokeswoman said: "At this stage police understand the incident occurred in ACT and it does not appear that any offence has been committed under ACT laws." Monaghan faces the sack after confirming the authenticity of the photo last night. In a statement issued through his manager Jim Banaghan he apologised for "a moment of abject stupidity" and conceded "there must be ramifications". NRL chief executive David Gallop said he expected "appropriate action" to be taken by the Raiders.

Monaghan claimed the photos were the result of a drunken Mad Monday "prank" on another teammate, who appears to own the Labrador shown in the picture. He now had to face his family and friends and the shame had led him to seek counselling, the statement said. "The fact that someone has sought to compound the situation further by the use of social media only adds to the trauma but Joel accepts that it is his actions alone that are at fault," Banaghan said. James Griffin, a partner with the online reputation management firm SR7, said the level of education regarding social media that is available to athletes was not adequate. He said sporting bodies should have social media risk management procedures in place. Loading "By not encouraging athletes to sensibly engage in social media, the field is left open for these sorts of things to occur," he said.

"In this instance, because there is no social media crisis plan in place there was no mechanism for the NRL or the player and club to sufficiently address the issue. The fact that some sporting bodies have chosen to 'ban' social media access is a reminder of how lacking the take-up of social media risk management training has been."