Ben Cousins receive HUGE news about his AFL Hall of Fame chances after stunning recovery from life of drugs and criminal conviction
- Eligible for appointment five years after retiring in 2010
- Was held back because of his past
- AFL has decided whether he will be on the 2024 list
The AFL has decided whether former West Coast Eagles bad boy Ben Cousins will be eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame in 2024.
The premiership winner and All Australian undoubtedly has the player credentials to achieve the competition’s top honour, but his well-documented battles with drink, drugs and his criminal past have held him back until now.
That includes a conviction for stalking his ex-partner, which saw him spend seven months in prison in 2020.
Cousins has changed his life dramatically in recent years. Looking healthy, clean and sober, he has taken up a new job as a television newscaster in his home town of Perth and is tipped to appear on Seven’s Dancing with the Stars.
However, these efforts have failed to sway the AFL, with Cousins ruled out of the 2024 inductions and reportedly will not be considered for a number of years to come.
The Hall of Fame will welcome new members next month, with former Hawthorn forward Jason Dunstall promoted to Legend status.
Ben Cousins had many tough years during and after his playing career but has cleaned himself up and is a model of health in 2024
The West Coast Eagles premiership winner was set to walk into the AFL Hall of Fame but was held back due to his actions off the field
Cousins had long battles with drugs and alcohol and was convicted and jailed for stalking his former partner
The inductees are chosen in part based on their character, and the Hall of Fame updated its rules to allow for the removal or suspension of members — a decision sparked by Barry Cable’s civil court conviction for sexual abuse of children.
Despite recent AFL actions to tackle violence against women, including a moment of silence and participants linking arms, The age has reported that even before these events, Cousins was ineligible for induction into the Hall of Fame.
The process of how the AFL makes these decisions is kept confidential.
It comes after the AFL announced off-field scandals had ruled him out of the Hall of Fame in April.
“I will say it’s a pleasure to see Ben in the form he’s in now, and I’ve seen quite a bit of him in the West,” AFL committee chairman Richard Goyder said at the time.
‘I think [Cousins’ recovery] is fantastic… what I would say with Hall of Fame, and it’s almost my precursor to our committee discussions every year, it’s not about who’s in, it’s about who’s not.
“It’s an incredibly high bar to be a Hall of Famer in the AFL, and it’s even higher to be a Legend, so we’ll look at that in due course.”
Cousins has spent time with his old club, including at the Parents-Children match in March
Former AFL star Wayne Carey was also blocked from induction into the NSW Hall of Fame by the AFL due to allegations against him during and after his playing career
The decision comes shortly after the AFL stopped Wayne Carey from being honored as a legend in the NSW Australian Football Hall of Fame after he was accused of shocking behavior towards women during and after his playing career.
In 2007, he was arrested in the US for assaulting a female police officer. This came after his then girlfriend, Kate Neilson, claimed he hit her in the face with a wine glass.
He admitted to assaulting and resisting Miami police but was not convicted. Neilson chose not to press charges.
“We felt this was not the right decision,” AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said last week.
“I called Wayne Carey earlier this morning to inform him of this and he agreed that being made a Legend would take away from the event and the important focus on the national response to the issue of gender-based violence against women.”