Many of Australia’s most famous athletes recently signed an open letter to the Prime Minister of Australia calling for a royal commission into the terrorist attack on a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach in December, 2025.
An excerpt of the letter read:
“We call on the Prime Minister and the Australian Government to show decisive national leadership by confronting extremism and terrorism in all its forms, without fear or hesitation. We must also put an end to the unprecedented harassment, intimidation and violence that has been directed at the Australian Jewish community since October 7, 2023.”
All of the 60 athletes had their own motives for signing the letter, but some of those signatories have been nominated for The Frownlow Medal or The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame, or have tarnished their reputation through scandal.
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 AFL player Noah Balta 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.
Wayne Carey. AFL
Inducted into The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame.
Assaulted police officers while resisting arrest. Charged with indecent assault of a woman. Arrested for breaking a wine glass in the face of an ex-fiance.
Awarded a Frownlow Medal Wife Beater Tattoo for violence against women. Most famous for sleeping with his teammate’s wife. White powder scandal.
Michael Clarke AO. Cricket
Never nominated for Frownlow honours because he played cricket, but he would have been if he’d played football due to the off-field scandals he has been involved in since retiring.
Swimmer Grant Hackett also didn’t play football, but earned an honorary nomination after he was carried off a plane by a Collingwood AFL board member after becoming intoxicated.
Alastair Clarkson. AFL
Accused of racism towards Indigenous players while coaching Hawthorn Hawks. Accusations included bullying, coercion, and intimidation. Hawthorn subsequently engaged a First Nation’s consultant. Clarkson was also nominated for verbally abusing a 19-year-old match official at his son’s footy game, punching a hole in the wall of a coaches box, calling a journalist a ‘cockhead’ and grabbing the throat of a fan outside a pub.
Chris Fagan. AFL
Accused of racism towards Indigenous players while coaching Hawthorn Hawks. Accusations included bullying, coercion, and intimidation. Hawthorn subsequently engaged a First Nation’s consultant.
Robert Dipierdomenico AFL
Earned his nomination for publicly declaring his condolences for the death of Ben Cousins. Cousins wasn’t dead (amazingly) and Dipper was left embarrassed.
Brad Fittler. NRL
One declared ‘the drunkest human being ever’ when found sleeping off a bender outside a police station.
Also made cringeworthy and sleazy comments about fellow signatory Jess Fox on live TV.
Ross Lyon. AFL
Slept with the wife of friend and fellow AFL star Billy Brownless.
Leigh Matthews. AFL
Broke a Geelong player’s jaw during a game in 1985. Charged with assault causing grievous bodily harm.
Sam Newman. AFL
The Human Headline. Frownlow highlights include, but not limited to, profanity on radio, being sued for defamation, racism, saying female journalist should be drowned, black face, comparing a Malaysian to a monkey, offending Indigenous Australians, misogyny, accusations of workplace harassment.
With support from such upstanding citizens, it’s no wonder the Royal Commission was established.
Image: Getty Images.
The Frownlow Medal 