A Sydney club has approached police after one of its star players was blackmailed over a lewd picture he had sent via social media.
This masthead has chosen not to reveal the identity of the representative star, who approached his club earlier this week to alert them to his predicament.
A high profile NRL player has been caught up in a catfish attempt.Credit: NRL/Supplied
The player, who is single, sent a nude picture to an account on social media. The person responsible for the account then attempted to extort the footballer for money.
The player was told to pay $5000 to the account operator or they would send the photo to his friends and family.
The player didn’t pay, and the photo was duly sent as a private message to several of his friends and family on Instagram.
Police urged the player to inform his friends on social media to report the behaviour of the account holder that had been blackmailing him. He also had to phone his parents and explain the situation.
“Hey this is mad awkward but [account holder] is sending a photo of my d*** around trying to get money out of me and sent it to you,” the player said in a private message to one of his friends on Monday.
“Would you be able to report them for sexual harassment? Might help. Sorry bout (sic) this but would be greatly appreciated x.”
The representative player informed his club earlier this week.
The club spoke to the police, who believe the account holder was someone overseas looking to exploit the NRL player. The account has since been shut down.
“The matter has been reported to police and the relevant social media companies,” a club spokesperson told this masthead.
“It’s important to note the player has been the victim here. It appears that this sort of incident is occurring on a regular basis to people across society.”
It comes a week after the AFL announced it was investigating a collection of nude and graphic pictures of almost 50 past and present players that had been illegally shared over social media platforms.
Photos of premiership players and Brownlow medallists were among the pictures that have been circulating.
The AFL released a statement last week confirming its investigation.
“The AFL Integrity Unit (AFLIU) is currently investigating the matter and has alerted relevant authorities, including Police in various states and the eSafety Commissioner,” the AFL statement said.
“There appears to have been significant work involved in gathering the images and creating files for distribution. The AFL has no information regarding why the personal images have been circulated illegally and without consent or what the motive is in doing so.”
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