Mitchell Pearce has played professional rugby league for many years now, winning the NRL Premiership title in 2013, but he was never going to attract notice in the world outside Australia (or the north of England) on the strength of that alone.
No, it took a video of him simulating a sex act with a dog for him to flash across everyone else's radar.
The dog/sex act business occurred on Australia Day. Pearce attempted to kiss an unnamed female who rejected his advance. Unbowed by this knockback, he turned his attention to the woman's dog and picked it up and bobbed it up and down on his midriff area.
The woman told him that it was her dog and that such an act was 'off-limits' and pulled the dog away from Pearce. She then asked Pearce whether he had pissed on her couch before demanding he leave. Pearce slumped back on the couch and said 'No, you're good'.
This is not the first time an NRL player has simulated a sex act with a dog. In 2010, Joel Monaghan resigned from the Canberra Raiders after a photo emerged on twitter of a dog giving him oral sex.
He transferred to Warrington Wolves in the UK Super League, a League in which he still competes. Some have remarked that today is a rather good day for Monaghan who is no longer out on his own in the 'Rugby League player performing a sex act with a dog' stakes. No doubt, a pleasing and unexpected turn of events for the chastened Monaghan.
In 2014, Todd Carney was sacked by his club Cronulla for the offence of being photographed pissing into his own mouth.
Whatever else Pearce does with his life, it will have to be mightily impressive to overcome the shadow cast by the video of him simulating a sex act with a dog.
It reminds one of the Dylan Moran joke in 'How Do You Want Me?'
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