Former AFL player Shannon Cox strengthened his chances of being inducted into The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame after being sentenced to jail.
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 killed two elderly women in a car crash while driving under the influence of drugs with his daughter in the vehicle and has been given a sentence of eight-and-a-half years.
The former Collingwood player admitted to unlawfully killing the two women after he fell asleep at the wheel and crossed into the path of oncoming traffic about 170km north of Perth on June 7, 2024. The women, in their 80s and on their way to a Country Women’s Association event, died at the scene.
The Indigenous man from Western Australia was initially charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death, but the charges were later upgraded to manslaughter. He was alleged to have been driving dangerously in a Toyota Prado when it collided with a Suzuki Ignis. A road train was also involved in the crash.
Further complicating matters for Cox was 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 and had served two years and six months behind bars for drug-related offences.
Cox is the latest in a very, very long line of disgraced footballers who have been forced to livestream the Frownlow awards night from their prison cell.
Image: NuNa
The Frownlow Medal 