Former NRL player Darrell Trindall has joined The Frownlow Medal Wife Beaters Club after being found guilty of violence against women.
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.
Trindall has been charged with multiple incidents of assault, and pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting a long time friend at a pub in Sydney’s CBD in 2003. He allegedly punched the woman in the face three times and held her in a headlock four times. He then said “I’m a first grade footballer. Who are they going to believe, you or me?”. He later received a 12-month suspended jail sentence for the attack.
The former Souths and Canterbury player joins the following professional footballers who have been found guilty of violence against women:
NRL
Kenny Edwards
Zane Tetevano
Ben Barba
Jake Friend
Anthony Watts
Isaac Gordon
Richie Fa’aoso
Anthony Cherrington
Addin Fonua-Blake
Kirisome Auva’a
Jarryd Hayne
Jamil Hopoate
Joel Romelo
Matt Lodge
Stuart Webb
Curtis Scott
Danny Williams
Wes Patten
AFL
Elijah Taylor
Nick Stevens
Liam Jurrah
Andrew Lovett
Wayne Carey
Albert Proud
Nathan Bock
Daniel Kerr
Rugby Union
Craig Wells
