Former NRL player Ethan Lowe is set to return to TV screens during sports matches as the face of a sports betting company. Lowe is currently in negotiations with various companies who have not forgotten his role in a betting scandal involving NRL games.
Lowe was one of five players stood down for two matches in 2017 for gambling on games involving their clubs but which they did not play, and this has earned him a nomination for The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame.
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.
The former Queensland Origin player joins a host of former footballers who endorse one of the millions of gambling companies which swamp sports telecasts with their advertisements. Lowe was not able to land a gig as a commentator on TV or radio when he hung up the boots, so he chose the only other post-football career path and made himself available to a gambling company.
Betting companies are apparently interested in using him as an ambassador because he proved that he would do anything to place a bet, even gambling on games involving his own team, and even threatening his own career by breaching NRL betting rules.
“That’s commitment to the punt,” one company remarked.
“We want all of our clients and potential clients to have that same commitment. Forget about your bills, forget about your partners, forget about your kids and forget about your savings, just get on the punt. Bet on NRL, AFL, any footy code, any sport, just get on it. Bet on your phone, on your computer. Do it at home, at work, at the game, anywhere, anytime – but always remember to gamble responsibly.”
Image: NuNa
The Frownlow Medal 