Former AFL player Nathan Bock has been nominated for The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame after admitting to slapping his partner and throwing beer in her face in Adelaide in 2009. He has also earned a prized Wife Beater tattoo.
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 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 Adelaide Crows defender and All Australian representative was charged with assault and property damage and accused of causing his girlfriend ‘considerable pain’. A court handed him a 12-month good behaviour bond and a $200 fine while the Crows slapped him with an ‘indefinite’ suspension from the club – which lasted only one game.
Bock later apologised through a prepared statement while his lawyer, Stephen White, was reported as saying,
“…in the context, these are not serious assaults,” before adding,
“…he is very mindful that he is a role model to younger people.”
This role model was later offered a contract with the Gold Coast Suns, despite the assault charges. Bock will now wait for the judges to decide if he joins a host of fellow Wife Beaters in The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame.
Image:NuNa
The Frownlow Medal 