Today the cycle has belonged to beleaguered player manager Ricky Nixon, who did the rounds of Melbourne radio this morning in an impassioned attempt to restore his reputation.
The story started on Saturday morning when the Herald Sun reported that Nixon had seen the 17-year-old girl at the centre of the St Kilda 'nude photos' scandal of last December, and that Nixon had described meeting the girl in her hotel as "inappropriate dealings".
On Sunday, the story took new legs, with a 'she said, he said' set of stories in both The Herald Sun and The Sunday Age, each suggesting that the dealings had included a sexual relationship.
Nixon's reputation was in tatters, particularly after a headline splashed across page one in The Age read: "Nixon faces sex scandal inquiry".
Under the headline were quotes from the girl in question, her photograph in silhouette: "the first time we had sex was the 24th of January … you don't come up for a cup of Milo, do you?" And from Nixon: "This is an absolute lie … we have never been involved intimately."
The Age story suggested that the raging storm could cost Nixon his licence as a player manager, and that the AFL Players' Association's accreditation board would consider his position as early as today.
Way down in the story, Nixon was quoted more explicitly. In a statement he said: "Any suggestion that I have had a sexual relationship with this girl, by anyone … is a blatant lie."
So, with such positions taken by major media, and continued via radio and television, Nixon clearly had no other position than to express his case today, publicly and fervently.
No doubt he believed that choosing radio would reduce any chance of his story being edited, or varied by commentary.
He told the ABC’s Jon Faine that he regretted that he had visited the girl alone, and "under the circumstances, I should have taken a witness".
Directly questioned by Faine over gossip and hearsay that has raced through the community, Nixon responded directly.
Faine: Did you provide her with alcohol?
Nixon: I did not provide her with alcohol whatsoever.
Faine: Did you provide her with illicit drugs?
Nixon: Absolutely not.
Faine: Did you have sex with her?
Nixon: I have never had sex with her and I make that very clear.
Faine: Did you have any sexual relations in the Bill Clinton sense?
Nixon: No, I don’t. Jon, I'm not here to be interrogated by you. I'm not a criminal. I've done a lot of good in the community with young people over 30 years. My kids and my wife should not be put through this when we're not the ones making the allegations.
Nixon's position was put reasonably, and not surprisingly with emotion, and he stressed that he had only engaged with the girl to assist a young person in difficulties: "A lot of parents have asked to go to the media to vouch for the fact I mentor and talk to their kids about lots of different issues.
"She was no different.
"I shouldn't have gone to the hotel room. I'll make that very clear.
"It was a mistake I made, but under the circumstances, I ask your listeners to consider if someone rings and says they've stolen all your money, they're about to get you in big trouble, and they're also in big trouble themselves, would you go to their aid, or would you just ignore it?
Faine: Or send someone else or not go alone?
Nixon: I think that’s fair enough. I think that criticism is absolutely correct. I didn't make that choice. I'll make that clear. I should not have gone to that hotel room. I want to be very clear about that.
Faine: She claims to have photos of you in your underpants?
Nixon: In November last year when she was in my office, and I've made this statement to police, and I've seen the video, she was left alone in my office for 20 minutes while I spoke to the police, and there were witnesses there.
Nixon claimed the girl videotaped the contents of his wallet and "unloaded" the contents of his phone, "including all my credit cards, my fishing licence, my car licence. She unloaded all the contents of my phone, which had videos and audio of all sorts of matters on my phone".
He said: "I didn’t know any of this until last week, two and a half months later."
He said the video that had been presented to media outlets had been concocted, and that he had seen the video "which does not show me having sex, does not show me partaking in illicit substances, and I want to make sure people understand that".
Faine: When you are quoted in the newspaper (Herald Sun) … you agreed you've had inappropriate dealings with her, what does that mean?
Nixon: I consider the dealings I had with her that night were inappropriate, and I guess most people would think they probably were. I don’t know that inappropriate is the right word, but certainly under the circumstances I should have taken a witness.
Nixon suggested the truth of his position was being manipulated and the statements made by the girl were published without challenge.
"She’s got her own little voice that she's putting through the media," he said.
"That's the way life is these days, and people want to listen to this sort of stuff, but I guess I want to make it clear the reason I'm doing this interview so your listeners can get the other side of the story and see how unfair it is on my kids and my wife at the moment, when we're just sitting back and copping different stories every 30 seconds and changing at a whim and what she likes.
"For some reason she's wanted revenge ever since (the meeting in Nixon's office).
"She's posted on Twitter that she's going to get me, that she had a victory last week after she set me up, which she did. She set me up - perhaps I shouldn't use those words - she invited me to come to her hotel room after she rang me at one o'clock on Sunday, either intoxicated or not in a state that I could understand her.
"It took an hour to try to calm her down, she told me she'd stolen all my money, that she got me in a lot of trouble, and that she needed to see me immediately."
Nixon ended the interview by expressing concern about the girl's future.
"She's a 17-year-old girl, I'll make it very clear, I care about. She's no different from any other kid. I hope she can get some help.
"I think there's a lot of people who’ve let her down, and I hope she does get some help and I hope she gets her life back on track, but what I do hope is she realises the damage she's doing to a lot of people at the moment.
"I think it's really important that someone can try and counsel and get to her and help her. Maybe you guys who are so concerned about the story can change your focus and help the girl."
Whatever the outcome, this is a sad and sorry tale - not just of the story of a girl, a club, players, the AFL, and a player manager - but also of the ongoing penetration of media into the lives of those involved in sport.
This story is being investigated by police, but already the jury of public opinion is being formed by information that has not been filtered, that is based on a 'she says, he says' model, without any forensic detail.
People's lives are being flipped around like ping-pong balls. When the truth is revealed, unencumbered by distortion or emotion, decisions will be made.
Whatever comes through that process, significant reputations, and family relationships have been torn.
In this case, it's the reputations of Nixon, Riewoldt, the AFL and the St Kilda footy club.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL
Who knows what the next media frenzy will reveal?
