AFL player Tarryn Thomas has been nominated for The Fronwlow Medal after being accused of a series of offences including intimidating his ex-girlfriend.
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 star Jarryd Hayne is the most recent recipient.
Thomas is under police investigation for alleged “intimidatory” behaviour towards an ex-girlfriend on social media. The charges include “several instances” including comments regarding her personal photos and videos.
The North Melbourne player strengthened his bid for The Fronwlow Medal with the confiscation of his luxury Mercedes Benz after he was caught driving without a valid licence earlier this year. He was fined $1000 and had his car confiscated for 30 days.
About the same time, he created more controversy when he responded to a comment on social media about his playing form. He told the unknown person: “Still get paid 10x more than you ever will” before deleting the Instagram post.
Thomas must wait for the police investigation to find out if he is guilty of the above offences, and if he has a real chance of winning The Fronwlow Medal.
Image: NuNa
The Frownlow Medal 