Branded as bad

A sex scandal that took place seven years ago is having major ramifications for Australian rugby league, as its sponsors start to amend their contracts and question their involvement in the sport. Many have already publicly stated that they do not want to be associated with such conduct as it will reflect badly on the companies and their brands. Is such conduct something that sponsors and other commercial partners in sport should expect and account for in their contracts? Or are such instances of bad behaviour/misconduct untypical? Can/should sponsors expect to have an influence on how and what players do when they are not playing rugby? Does this breach a player's rights to privacy and freedom? Did the sponsors get it wrong in the way that they selected a property (or properties) to sponsor which they had not full researched, they did not know, and/or they did not share values with? And is such behaviour necessarily bad for sponsors, commercial partners and their brands? Do consumers respond in a 'typical' or common way? Can the negative effects of the way in which consumers respond be mitigated? Or is the outcome inevitable? That is, do such scandals simply lead to negative brand associations and decreasing sales?