The Australian basketball player, who lost his career with a single punch, expressed relief after his attacker was locked up.
Former NBL player Harry Froling was knocked unconscious outside a Wollongong nightclub in January last year.
The brutal attack left him with surgery for a fractured skull and a brain hemorrhage, and ended his basketball career with the Brisbane Bullets.
Even after 19 months of recovery, the 26-year-old still struggles with headaches and memory problems, but he knows he is lucky to be alive, as his head hit the concrete pavement after he fell unconscious to his feet.
The man behind the attack, Nathan Mesinez, was sentenced in the Wollongong District Court on Friday to two years and seven months in prison, 16 months of which will be without the possibility of parole.
Now Froling has released his views on the attack and said he is happy to move on, following unsubstantiated accusations that he provoked the brawl.
It is clear from the vision that Froling never raised his hands or behaved aggressively in any way, even after being pushed by an unknown woman from Wollongong.
“I’m glad it’s finally over,” Froling said ESPN.
Australian basketball player Harry Froling’s career was ended by a cowardly blow
Footage shown in court captured the moment the Wollongong man struck Froling in the head
The former Brisbane Bullets star then fractured his skull on the concrete pavement as his attacker and friends walked away
“It has been a long and difficult process because I don’t know anything because I can’t remember the night of the incident,” Froling continued.
‘I had heard accusations from third parties and all sorts of things had happened during the night. And now that I see the true story of what happened, it’s a real relief. I know I didn’t do anything that would make the king strike.’
Froling also revealed that Mesinez’s associates continued to threaten him during the recovery period and while the case was in court.
“Despite the flood of messages and threats I have received from his family and friends, this is the truth,” he posted on the social media platform X with an image of the attack.
‘All the evidence is public, I was never aggressive and I didn’t respond to his girlfriend pushing me. I was never in trouble or investigated for anything.
‘Victim blaming stops here. Period. The perpetrator had also been involved in a fight earlier that evening and was clearly looking for trouble.
“All the evidence is publicly available, and someone being tall and ‘annoying’ is no reason to punch him.”
The shocking image shows the surgery needed to stop the bleeding in the brain
Although Froling will never play professional basketball again, he is glad the ordeal is finally over
While Froling’s professional career is over, he hopes to build a career in basketball. The Froling name is well known in Australian basketball, with his twin sisters Keely and Alicia playing in the NBL and WNBL.
His mother Jenny was a famous Australian basketball star in the 80s, while his father Shane is a former NBL player and coach of title-winning representative teams. His brother Sam is a current NBL player with the Hawks.
Harry is back with his state team, the Mackay Meteors, where he is working on strength and conditioning, hoping to one day play the sport he loves again, at whatever level.
“I dream of playing basketball again,” Froling said.
‘It will take some time, but I will do everything I can to overcome this.
“I do what I can. It’s my career. It’s my first love. I want to be in that space somehow.
“It was great being with Mackay Basketball and those guys helping me. I got to rehab, I got to be with the weightlifters and stuff like that. Just trying to get healthy and get my general health in order.
“If I could get back in there and play again, that’s a dream of mine. It all depends on how I feel and how my body reacts. I think that’s the hard part.
‘I may never be able to play again, that’s the reality, but I would love to do that and I’m doing everything I can to get as healthy as possible and recover well from this.’