Australia has a hard-earned reputation for winning against the odds. No matter where an individual athlete ranks, or how lowly a team of any description stands, if they are wearing green and gold they begin a contest with respect from their opponent, for no other reason than they come from our country.

That wonderful international standing is tarnished, and respect lost because it is no longer given by some of our prominent sports stars.

These elite athletes have made a childish spectacle of themselves so often, on and off the field, people at home have squirmed with embarrassment, even in the afterglow of an unlikely Australian victory.

Australia's Olympic team's chef de mission Kitty Chiller therefore deserves wholehearted support for setting firm guidelines for the people who will represent us on the world stage in August.

Chiller began competing internationally while studying at the University of Melbourne. Her sport, the modern pentathlon – a combination of fencing, running, swimming, shooting and show jumping – has left her with a broad understanding of athletes' needs at the top level. For almost a decade Chiller was ranked at the top of her sport, and had the world No.1 ranking in the 1990s.

Canberra tennis star Nick Kyrgios withdrew from contention for the Australian team after receiving a 16-page letter from Chiller asking him to please explain if he intended to be selected for the Rio Games. His withdrawal will come as a relief to some Australians who had been bracing for more antics from the volatile 21-year-old.

Many spectators have grown tired of the tantrums from Lleyton Hewitt in his early climb to tennis stardom, Bernard Tomic and Kyrgios, who rarely completes a tournament without controversy.

A low point came when Kyrgios told on-court opponent Stan Wawrinka another player had slept with Wawrinka's girlfriend. Hardly an original sledge, this one stands out because it came on the top of many other indiscretions.

Chiller has sent similar letters to other athletes including shooter Michael Diamond, who has pleaded not guilty to drink-driving and fire arm offences.

Like Kyrgios, Diamond has a rare, sharp eye for small, fast-moving objects. But neither men can afford to be blind to their obligations as role models. As a nation we need good role models more than Olympic gold medals. We have lots of medals. Respectful Australian sportsmen are rare.

In court a magistrate rejected Diamond's request for a hearing as soon as possible, to help clear the 44-year-old marksman's slate to be eligible for Olympic selection. This decision shows representing Australia does not warrant special treatment in such circumstances.

The public spotlight has never burned as intensely, nor pressure been greater on sportsman and women, and it is unfair to expect them not to slip up when living under such pressure. Social media also sweeps their value judgements to huge audiences with unprecedented speed.

But this extra scrutiny has not extinguished humans quest to be faster, stronger and higher. If anything it has made the Olympic ideals burn brighter. Bad behaviour has no place in those ideals.