Well, it seems to me the lunatics have officially taken over the asylum! A young woman, possibly unwell, admitted to wanting to bring the St Kilda Football Club undone by improperly obtaining photos that should never have been taken by a fellow player and kept in the first place. The high profile player manager paid to protect the reputation and interests of his players and specifically Nick Riewoldt is embroiled in further scandal only weeks after a settlement was finally reached and everyone was meant to pick up the pieces of their lives and move forward. Today, Ricky Nixon now admits to “inappropriate dealings” with this young woman. Regardless of the extent of those dealings, and we will all be left to speculate, he has surely placed in jeopardy his player contracts with Riewoldt and others, his professional and personal credibility, his livelihood and for all we know, his marriage.

Everyone has their own developed sense of morality and sometimes it is seriously questionable. That is why a company cannot depend on any individual who may be afflicted with a disease we’ll call profound error of judgment, to know to do the right thing (and every time).

That is why organisations have to keep ethics top of mind and lay out clearly and regularly what is expected of its employees as ethical conduct. If we rely on the individual to act based on their interpretation of right and wrong, we can seriously compromise brand, relationships, trust and commercial success.

There were so many ‘moments of truth’ to be faced in this sorry saga for many people. What if a person’s moral compass is not facing due north? Personal ethics are personal and can save us or bury us. But ethical conduct demands the asking of good conscience questions regularly. How might this be perceived? Who could get hurt by my actions? Should I bounce this off someone else I trust and respect and see what they say? And finally, how would it look if this ends up on the front page of the Herald Sun on Monday. Any or all of those questions are a pretty darn good place to start.