Australian teacher fired over Tiger Woods sex joke

A schoolteacher in Australia has been fired after sending a raunchy email about golfer Tiger Woods's extramarital affairs to colleagues.

The man, formerly working for the Taminmin High School Council-registered training organisation, forwarded the email that read "Nike, Just Do It" with a picture of a naked woman underneath and the quote, "Just Did It."

The teacher told Darwin's Northern Territory News that it was a "harmless" message and claimed that he was sacked to save costs over the Christmas holiday period.

"It was almost like they were getting rid of people before Christmas, so they didn't have to pay them holidays," the Daily Telegraph quoted him as saying. "I had never been pulled over the coals or had a written warning or anything."

A spokesperson for the Taminmin High School Council confirmed that the man had been dismissed while on probation.

Spokesperson Tony Considine said, "The person was terminated as a result of sending an email containing inappropriate material on a work computer during working time to work colleagues."