Footy fans are confused. They thought former AFL player Jack Watts had earned a nomination for The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame, but then reports indicated that he hadn’t. To add to the confusion, it’s the second time he has and hasn’t been nominated for Australian sport’s highest honour.
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, while AFL player Elijah Taylor is 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.
Watts was originally charged with a driving offence in Adelaide in 2020. He was accused of drink-driving, failing to stop at a crash scene, failing to give particulars about the crash to a police officer, and driving without due care. A warrant was issued for his arrest, but then things got complicated. Lawyers intervened, and reporters starting using words like ‘revoke’, ‘summons’, ‘serve’ and ‘hearing’. At present, it’s hard to say whether Watts has a legal case to answer or not, and whether he can receive a nomination for The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame.
The former Melbourne and Port Adelaide player has confused Frownlow judges in the past. In February 2019, a video emerged of him snorting a white substance off the chest of a woman, but his management claimed the substance was legal.
Watts has apparently implored his lawyer to clear the legal confusion and make him eligible for a bona fide nomination for The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame. Watts is desperate to attend the Frownlow awards night, where there is no doubt as to what footballers will be snorting off womens’ chests.
Image: NuNa
The Frownlow Medal 