Home and Away | Why Liverpool's soft approach to Raheem Sterling sets bad example
The Reds' handling of 20-year-old's 'hippy crack' video shows young players it's OK to misbehave
You would think being the hottest talent in an England shirt, cheered by tens of thousands of fans and paid vast riches was enough of an adrenalin rush for any 20-year-old. But not for Liverpool sensation Raheem Sterling, who became the latest Three Lion fledgling to inflict reputational damage not only on himself, but on English football.
After being lambasted for turning down a contract extension of £100,000 (HK$1.15 million) a week contract extension at Anfield, Sterling was once more in the headlines this week after photos emerged of him smoking a shisha pipe and inhaling so-called hippy crack, or a "legal high" known as laughing gas.
You would think being the hottest talent in an England shirt, cheered by tens of thousands of fans and paid vast riches was enough of an adrenalin rush for any 20-year-old
A giggling Sterling is seen at his home sucking the effluvium from a balloon at a late-night session with two friends - before demanding another hit. He turns stoner-like to the camera grinning widely, and is then filmed either unconscious or asleep.
Aside from the potentially lethal health risks - experts warn it can cause a loss of blood pressure, fainting, a coma and even heart attacks - it is not exactly the best recreational pastime for a professional whose career depends on being in tip-top physical condition.
Sterling might have been on the up via his tawdry inhaling, but his reputation is now in a tailspin and somewhere in the vapour trail football is, too.
It is not clear whether the footage was exposed by Sterling's friends - which would suggest he is a bad judge of character - or whether it was lifted from a social media site. He is not the first, nor the last, young hope guilty of mis-spending his youth and being caught out by social media's all-seeing eye and treachery within his circle of trust.