The identity of the former AFL player charged with manslaughter can finally be revealed after Shannon Cox was nominated 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 men’s and women’s 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 Ezra Mam 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.
Cox played for Collingwood before retiring in 2009, and was charged with manslaughter over a crash that killed two elderly women in Western Australia in 2024.
The former Magpie was initially charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death, but the charges were later upgraded to manslaughter. He is alleged to have been driving dangerously in a Toyota Prado when it collided with a Suzuki Ignis about 170km north of Perth. A road train was also involved in the crash.
Two women in their eighties died at the scene, while a 12-year-old girl was also injured in the incident. Cox was not injured.
Further complicating matters for Cox is the fact that his lawyer did not show up for the court hearing. To increase his chances of entering the hall of fame, Cox then faced a charge of breaching bail after he produced a positive drug test. During court proceedings, it was also revealed that Cox had a history of drug use.
Cox is the latest in a very, very long line of disgraced footballers who have been forced to take a taxi to the awards night for The Frownlow Medal, or to livestream the event from their prison cell.
Image: NuNa
The Frownlow Medal 