Nick D'Arcy is in the news again but compared to last time when he broke the jaw of Simon Cowley, this time, his only crime is posing with some guns in a US gun shop with fellow team mate Kenrick Monk.
Monk is also well known for the wrong reasons. When he broke his elbow in two places last year, he lied through his teeth and swore he was involved in a hit and run accident when in fact he'd only fallen off his skateboard. He said he panicked because he wasn't supposed to be doing anything that could cause an injury, so he made up the story.
The pair accepted an invitation to visit a shooting range and try out a few guns and when the gun shop owner offered to take their photo, they agreed and Monk posted it on his Facebook page. In America where gun shops are a novelty to Australians, what man or boy wouldn't want to go into one to have a look?
D'Arcy said he was deeply sorry for offending anyone with the gun-toting photo and Monk is equally contrite. But Swimming Australia isn't impressed, nor is Olympic team chef de mission Nick Green who said "These postings are foolish and clearly inappropriate for members of the 2012 Australian Olympic Team and this incident serves as a warning to all athletes about the dangers of social media."
So can we blame their youth? Probably, the world hasn't yet figured out how to put an old head on young shoulders. We can only hope they all behave themselves from hereon in.
Update: D'Arcy and Monk have been ordered to leave London as soon as their events finish and have been banned from using social media during the Games
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