Wayne's world in tatters

Carey has been vilified by the Australian media

By BBC Sport's Phil Mercer in Australia

The reputation of Aussie Rules king Wayne Carey is in pieces after he became embroiled in a sex scandal that is the talk of Australia.

The married captain of the Melbourne-based Kangaroos club had the misfortune to be caught in a compromising position with the wife of his vice-captain at a players' party.

And now the king of AFL has been dethroned while the fall-out continues to rip the heart out of the famous club.

Carey, the Kangaroos' most talented and popular player, immediately quit the club when his long-standing affair with Kellie Stevens was unearthed.

Carey has abused the sacred code of 'mateship'

Phil Mercer

But the toll on the innocent has been brutal.

Carey's wife and childhood sweetheart, Sally, suffered a nervous breakdown when she found out.

Now, after two days of mild sedative at a private hospital, she is back home in the country town of Wagga Wagga in New South Wales.

In a statement, she said her partnership with Carey, cemented last year with a marriage akin to a royal wedding, could survive.

"When we've had time to absorb everything, I will sit down with my husband and discuss the future of our marriage," she pledged.

It is unclear just how far of one of Australia's most respected athletes will eventually fall when the dust finally settles.

It is not simply illicit sex that has dethroned king Carey.

Carey (left) and Stevens in happier times

By sleeping with the wife of a good friend and fellow team member, Carey, the footballing playboy, has committed a sin much worse than infidelity in the eyes of most Australians.

He has abused the sacred code of 'mateship', a bond among friends that is often stronger than family ties.

It has provoked a frenzy in the newspapers, with one angry correspondent said Carey's actions were: "Dirty, disgusting, debauched, black-hearted and base-minded."

It didn't stop there. It was, she went on "pig-dog like, vile, polluted, rank and monstrous."

Another blamed cheap television. It was all down to "Temptation Island", a prime time reality TV show that glorifies adultery.

"I wonder how the public can turn its back on Wayne Carey," said another letter. "He is not in disgrace but a person who has made a mistake."

This was, of course, written by a man.

Carey is obviously not the first sports star to be compromised in this way.

Wayne's world has crumbled

Phil Mercer

And Steven Ortiz, an assistant professor at Oregon State University, is sure others will make the same mistakes.

He has analysed the experiences of women married to athletes in various American sports in a four-year study.

There was, he told The Australian newspaper, a built-in culture of adultery and a 'fast-food sex mentality' in professional sport.

"These athletes deal with boredom, peer group pressure, a sense of importance and the availability of females who seem to be irresistibly attracted to professional athletes," said Ortiz.

Wayne's world has crumbled.

His indiscretion has destroyed his reputation, has probably ended his top-flight career and has wrecked the hopes and dreams of two marriages.