Former rugby league bad boy Todd Carney admits he still gets anxious every time he uses a public toilet, five years after the infamous ‘bubbler’ incident that left his NRL career in tatters.
Carney, now 33, was sacked from the Cronulla Sharks in June 2014 after a photo circulated of him urinating into his mouth in the men’s bathroom at Cronulla nightclub Northies went viral.
In his new tell-all book, Hard Truth, Carney relived the incident that ended his NRL career and changed his life forever.
Todd Carney, pictured with girlfriend Susie Bradley has addressed the infamous ‘bubbler’ incident in his new tell-all book out later this month
‘I was ashamed and embarrassed for myself, my family, the club and the game,’ he wrote.
‘It was a stupid party trick, very tasteless and inappropriate bit I feel it needs to be put into context. It was at no one else’s expense and I was just acting the fool.’
He said the public and media haven’t been forgiving.
Carney says he still cops a hard time from fans online and on the street and says it often gets him down.
When he’s at the pub with mates and needs to use the bathroom, he asks a few mates to come with him, ‘just for security.’
‘Every time I go to a public toilet, I find myself anxious that blokes will see me in there and take the mickey out of me,’ Carney wrote.
The ‘bubbler’ incident at Northies in 2014 left Carney’s NRL career in tatters
He recalled a recent incident at the races where a group of men started to antagonise him while waiting in a long queue, urging him to do the ‘bubbler’ before doing it themselves.
‘People never [cease] to amaze me – these guys were bagging the s*** of me for something I did years ago and have publicly regretted and apologised for, and then they are doing it themselves,’ Carney wrote.
While he said there was no excuse for his actions, there is still bitterness towards the person who took the the photo without Carney’s permission and shared it.
‘My rights were violated – if anyone else had a photo of them taken in a toilet, they would get sympathy, not be criticised,’ he said.
The biggest shame he felt was calling his mum and sisters to explain before it became front page news.
Todd Carney spent several seasons with Cronulla before his contract was terminated
Carney is expected to address his relationship with Susie Bradley in his new book Hard Truth
After the incident, a lost and confused Carney fled to Bali to escape the scandal, where he took time out to visit Australian inmates in jail, including Bali Nine drug smugglers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukurmaran, who eventually faced the death penalty a year later in 2015.
Carney said meeting the pair put his petty problems into perspective.
‘These guys’ days were numbered and they knew it. When I said goodbye to them, it for very hard – for both them and me, knowing we would never see other other again,’ he said.
After NRL career ended, he spent two seasons with France’s Super League club Catalans Dragons with stints in the UK with the Salford Red Devils and Hull Kingston Rovers.
Carney still cops a hard time from fans online and on the street over the ‘bubbler’ incident
Carney has played 222 NRL games, three Origin games for NSW and has represented Australia once.
Long before the infamous bubbler incident, troubled playmaker was previously sacked by Canberra and the Sydney Roosters for off-field issues before he was given one last chance by the Sharks to turn his life around.
After marking his NRL debut with Canberra in 2004, he was sacked by the Raiders in 2008 after a nightclub incident in which he was accused of urinating on another patron.
In 2011 he was let go by the Roosters after a year for breaking an alcohol ban, one year after winning the Dally M medal and guiding the Roosters to the NRL grand final.
During his time with the NRL Carney was charged three times with drink driving.
He is now captain-coach of Group 10 rugby league Byron Bay Red Devils on the NSW far north coast.
Carney (pictured) spent his early career with the Canberra Raiders before he was sacked
His new tell-all book documents the disgraced star’s various scandals over the years, while offering a ‘raw and honest’ account of his troubled life.
Carney recently took to Instagram to say that his new book will tell ‘the real story behind the headlines, from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows.’
It is expected he will also address his relationship with Married At First Sight star girlfriend Susie Bradley, after they became a couple earlier this year.
Carney’s book, Hard Truth, will be available on August 19.