Former NRL player Gideon Gela-Mosby has earned a nomination for The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame after being charged with smashing a man’s skull and assaulting another man. Gela-Mosby is accused of punching the men late one night in Cairns in November 2020.
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 NRL player Ben Barba 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 victims claim that the former Cowboys player approached the two men on the street and threw a surprise punch at one man, fracturing his skull. Gela-Mosby then allegedly punched the second man when he came to the aid of his friend. As a result, Gela-Mosby was charged with assault occasioning bodily harm.
Gela-Mosby strengthened his bid for a place in the hall of fame with multiple driving offences. He committed his first offence in 2017 when he was caught driving without a licence. He then offended twice more in 2018, and on one occasion was caught driving to a bottle shop with an expired learner’s licence. He was fined multiple times and prevented from securing a driver’s licence.
Assault has earned many footballers a place in The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame, so will it prove a golden ticket for Gela-Mosby?
Image: NuNa
The Frownlow Medal 