Former NRL player Brett Seymour has been nominated for The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame after a series of off-field incidents and shocking allegations made by his wife on national television.
Seymour’s estranged wife, Roseanne Seymour, told channel 9 that Seymour had physically abused her on a number of occasions after heavy bouts of gambling and drinking. The domestic violence allegations have not been proven, but the alcohol abuse is well documented.
The Frownlow Medal is awarded to the player whose off-field demeanour epitomises the values of the modern-day footballer and draws attention to the status of footballers as role models to young Australians. It covers Australia’s four major football codes; the National Rugby League (NRL), Australian Football League (AFL), the A-League (Football) and Rugby Union’s Super Rugby competition. NRL player Shaun Kenny-Dowall won the inaugural medal in 2015 and code-swapper Karmichael Hunt was the most recent recipient.
The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame honours former players and players who received media attention in previous seasons, for similarly scandalous behaviour, and its inductees include Ben Cousins and Julian O’Neill.
Seymour was sacked by both Brisbane and Cronulla during his NRL career. The Broncos refused to extend his contract due to disciplinary issues and the Sharks also showed him the door after one too many alcohol-fuelled incidents. One incident saw Seymour ejected from a pub in the Sutherland Shire for drunkenness, for which he was stood down for two games and fined $20,000.
The half then moved to New Zealand to play for the Warriors, where he managed to stay out of trouble until he was just about to leave for England to play professionally. Not long before moving to The UK, Seymour was caught drink driving.
The troubled player attempted to make a fresh start in England, but was released by Hull FC after crashing his car while under the influence of alcohol and sleeping tablets. Police banned him from driving for 20 months.
The allegations of domestic violence have not been presented to a court of law, only released publicly via the interview on Channel 9. Seymour denied the allegations via a prepared statement.
The alcohol abuse and poor discipline are enough to earn Seymour a nomination, while the veracity of the allegations of domestic violence will determine whether he deserves to be inducted into The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame.
Image: NuNa
The Frownlow Medal 