If some mystery remains about the turn of events that saw a lewd image posted on the X account of Luke Sayers, there is no question that Sayers has spared several parties further grief by stepping down as president of the Carlton Football Club.

He has spared his family from further trauma. He has spared the Blues from a distraction that might have seeped into the season.

Luke Sayers.Credit: Marija Ercegovac

He has spared a female executive whose handle was unfairly inserted into the offending tweet from a deluge of innuendo and more unwanted attention.

And, most of all, he has spared himself from the not inconsiderable stress of defending his reputation (for the second time, post PwC) and of potentially letting his private life – and his family’s – become public property.

Sayers was always going to be cleared by the AFL investigation, once the league’s integrity unit accepted that the Carlton president was not the author of the social media post that contained an image that would soon be described by a term more typically attached to indiscreet footballers – a dick pic.

Had he clung to the presidency, Sayers would face pressures to outline, in greater detail, an explanation of what exactly had transpired, the provenance of this embarrassing photo, and even why he had........

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