79 Facts About Ben Cousins

Benjamin Luke Cousins was born on 30 June 1978 and is a former professional Australian rules footballer and media personality who played for West Coast and Richmond in the Australian Football League.

Ben Cousins was selected six times in the All-Australian Team and represented Australia in the International Rules Series.

Ben Cousins was West Coast's club champion for four seasons and captain for five seasons.

Ben Cousins played 32 games across two seasons at the club, retiring from the AFL at the end of the 2010 season.

Cousins co-produced a documentary film titled Such is Life: The Troubled Times of Ben Cousins, saying he hoped it would serve as a cautionary tale against drug use.

Ben Cousins was born in Geelong, Victoria, on 30 June 1978, to Stephanie and Bryan, an Australian rules footballer who had moved from Western Australia to play for the Geelong Football Club in the Victorian Football League.

When Ben Cousins was 18 months old, his family moved back to Perth, Western Australia, where he was raised with younger siblings Matthew, Sophie and Melanie.

Ben Cousins played junior football for the Bull Creek-Leeming Junior Football Club and for his private school, Wesley College.

At 17, a week after his tenth WAFL game for East Fremantle, Ben Cousins played his first AFL match and kicked two goals for West Coast against Geelong.

Ben Cousins won the Norwich Rising Star award for his debut season in 1996, polling 15 votes from the six judges to beat Shannon Grant by one point.

In 1998, the Herald Sun ran a two-page article across its centre pages about 20-year-old Ben Cousins, titled "West goes wild for the kid".

In 1998, Ben Cousins was selected in the All-Australian Team and was runner-up in West Coast's Best and Fairest.

Ben Cousins played in his first AFL finals game in 1999, against the Western Bulldogs in a qualifying final at the MCG, and the year included another selection in the All-Australian Team and representing Australia in the International Rules Series.

Ben Cousins played his 100th game amid speculation he would take over the captaincy from Guy McKenna, who was due to retire after the same game.

Ben Cousins won his first club Best and Fairest at the end of the season, a feat which he repeated in 2002 and 2003, and he was again named in the All-Australian Team in 2001 and 2002.

Kemp's retirement saw Ben Cousins become the captain in 2002, a role he filled until 2006.

In early 2003, Ben Cousins injured his ankle in a game against Hawthorn but played on through five weeks of pain-killing injections.

Ben Cousins won the Brownlow Medal, the AFL's highest individual player award, on 19 September 2005 with 20 votes, ahead of teammate Daniel Kerr on 19 votes and Nick Dal Santo on 18 votes.

Ben Cousins was the favourite to win with bookmakers, after five previous top-10 finishes.

Ben Cousins did not attend the award ceremony in Melbourne, remaining in Perth to prepare for West Coast's Grand Final match against Sydney Swans the following weekend.

The performances of Chris and Ben Cousins assist us in raising more money for WA football and their contribution is just outstanding.

West Coast lost the 2005 Grand Final to Sydney by four points, but as well as his Brownlow win, Ben Cousins was awarded another West Coast Best and Fairest and the players' Most Valuable Player award, with 159 votes compared to runner-up Matthew Pavlich's 99 votes.

Ben Cousins was runner-up to Barry Hall in the coaches' player of the year award, and in statistics, had 612 disposals, 24 goals, and ranked in the top five of the league in nine of the 12 categories.

In February 2006, Ben Cousins resigned his captaincy after an off-field incident where he fled a booze bus.

Ben Cousins was suspended indefinitely by West Coast on 20 March 2007 after missing two training sessions.

On 29 June 2007, Ben Cousins was given clearance by the AFL to resume training with the West Coast Eagles, which he did the following Monday.

Ben Cousins gained 38 disposals and six marks in the game, inspiring West Coast's win.

On 16 October 2007, Ben Cousins' car was stopped in Northbridge and searched.

Ben Cousins was arrested for drug possession and refusing to submit to a blood test.

The Commission ruled that Ben Cousins must submit to regular drug tests, including urine testing up to three times per week and hair testing up to four times annually.

On 29 November 2008, Ben Cousins was not selected in the AFL National Draft.

Ben Cousins played a game with the Coburg Football Club in the Victorian Football League before returning to the AFL in Round 7 against Brisbane.

On 17 August 2010, after weeks of speculation by the media, Ben Cousins announced his retirement in front of his family and huge crowd.

In June 2023, Ben Cousins commenced presenting the sport on 7NEWS Morning Edition in Perth.

In early 2024, Seven Network announced that Ben Cousins will appear as a contestant on the forthcoming twenty-first season of Dancing with the Stars Australia.

In 1997, Ben Cousins took part in an education campaign for the WA Asthma Foundation.

Ben Cousins was taken to Murdoch Hospital and recovered quickly.

In September 2002, Ben Cousins punched teammate Daniel Kerr at the club's best and fairest award celebrations, after an argument about Kerr's relationship with Ben Cousins' sister Melanie.

Ben Cousins was in Melbourne at the time of the shooting, but it was claimed that he and Gardiner had received phone calls from the figures both before and after the incident at the nightclub.

Newspaper columnists at The West Australian and talkback radio callers demanded Ben Cousins resign his captaincy.

Ben Cousins's judgment had previously been questioned by West Coast management after he and Gardiner were photographed entering Crown Casino with Kizon in 2001.

On 12 February 2006, Cousins fled a booze bus, abandoning his Mercedes-Benz and girlfriend Samantha Druce in the middle lane of Perth's Canning Highway and running from police with a male passenger.

The male passenger was later caught and breath-tested, but Ben Cousins eluded the police by swimming into the Swan River.

Ben Cousins pleaded guilty to obstructing the path of another driver and obstructing a public officer in court in March 2006 and was fined $900 plus costs.

Ben Cousins was fined an additional $5,000 by West Coast.

On 3 December 2006, Ben Cousins was arrested for public intoxication after passing out in front of Crown Casino in Melbourne and spent four hours in jail.

Ben Cousins was released without being fined or making a court appearance.

The West Coast Eagles later announced that the club would not discipline Ben Cousins, stating that the media scrutiny was sufficient punishment.

Ben Cousins's problem relates to substance abuse and he faces a great challenge.

We acknowledge the public scrutiny that comes with the opportunities and privileges that Ben Cousins has had, but I ask now with the issues that Ben Cousins faces, that my son be given the privacy and the opportunity that he needs to deal with this problem.

Ben Cousins returned to Perth on 30 April 2007, with much attention from the media.

Chris Mainwaring, a former West Coast Eagles player and close friend of Ben Cousins, died of a drug overdose on 1 October 2007.

Ben Cousins received renewed media attention, as he was the last person to see Mainwaring alive, having visited him twice on the night of his death to provide emotional support and deliver food.

Ben Cousins' vehicle was searched, and he was charged with failure to comply with a police-ordered drug assessment and possession of a prohibited drug, the police having found quantities of prescription drugs diazepam, Viagra, oxycodone and Caverta as well as traces of ecstasy and cocaine on a $20 note in the car.

Ben Cousins was sacked by West Coast for serious breaches of his agreement with the club the day after his arrest.

The media reported that Ben Cousins was missing and had failed to attend treatment in Malibu, and he was admitted to hospital several days later after an alleged cocaine binge.

Ben Cousins returned to Australia and told a packed media conference that he was "overcoming a drug addiction".

In March 2010, Ben Cousins was twice admitted to Epworth Hospital after suffering from abdominal pain and cramping.

Ben Cousins's hospitalisation prompted debate over the use of legal stimulants such as caffeine and legal sedatives such as sleeping pills among sportspeople, with the Premier of Victoria, John Brumby, disapproving of their use.

There's no point putting something to air only [for Ben Cousins] to be deregistered for life two minutes after it goes to air.

Ben Cousins is featured taking illicit drugs, speaking candidly about his addiction and saying that he hopes his story will ultimately help to save lives.

Ben Cousins's father confirmed that his son's attempt to rebuild his life had taken a "couple of bad turns" in the previous three months and that he was battling "troubled times".

On 9 January 2012, Ben Cousins was admitted to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital after suffering a fall at a drug rehabilitation clinic.

Ben Cousins slipped while getting out of a shower, striking his head on a basin and injuring his neck.

Ben Cousins was committed by doctors to a suburban mental health unit under police escort on 13 January 2012 after suffering a four-day episode of drug-induced psychosis while being treated at Sir Charles Gardiner Hospital.

On 27 March 2012, Ben Cousins was arrested by police at Esperance Airport, in the south of Western Australia, on suspicion of possession of drugs.

Ben Cousins was strip-searched and found to have methamphetamine secreted in his anus.

The initial charge of intent to sell or supply the drug was later downgraded to simple possession, to which Ben Cousins pled guilty and was fined $800.

On 17 April 2012, Ben Cousins was arrested and charged again in Western Australia for possession of cannabis and a smoking implement.

On 11 March 2015, Ben Cousins was arrested in the Perth suburb of Bicton after leading police on a slow-speed car chase, stating he could not stop due to a family emergency.

Four days later, it was reported that Ben Cousins had been sent to a mental health facility after he was found inside the Special Air Service's Campbell Barracks in Swanbourne.

Ben Cousins was arrested for the third time in two weeks after trying to outrun police in Canning Vale following a "bizarre incident" outside a Sikh temple.

In June 2016, police intervened when Ben Cousins attempted to direct traffic on Perth's Canning Highway.

Ben Cousins was described by witnesses as being "really lost, confused and making no sense at all", and taken to Fiona Stanley Hospital.

In November 2016, Ben Cousins failed to appear in court on charges of breaching a violence restraining order and possessing methamphetamine.

Ben Cousins sustained minor injuries and was taken to Royal Perth Hospital under police guard.

Ben Cousins was arrested in the Perth suburb of Melville in February 2017 and charged with a number of offences related to drugs, violence and stalking, including seven counts of breaching a violence restraining order.

In May 2017, it was reported that Ben Cousins was attacked by another inmate after borrowing his teacup and not returning it.

Ben Cousins became eligible for parole six months into his sentence, but the parole board denied his application and ordered him to complete rehabilitation courses after he failed a drug test.