Ben Cousins named ‘employee of the month’ as life gets back on track

The former AFL star has battled drug addiction for years and has spent time in prison for stalking his ex-partner Maylea Tinecheff — the mother of the pair’s two children.

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However, there was optimism Cousins may be turning a corner when he accepted an invitation to this year’s Brownlow Medal ceremony.

Fans hoping to see the 43-year-old get back on the straight and narrow will have been heartened by a Facebook post on Wednesday from Rigsafe Lifting Solutions, who recognised Cousins’ good work.

“Congratulations to Ben Cousins for earning #therigsafeway employee of the month for September,” the post said.

“Ben’s work ethic, attitude and Rigsafe ‘teamwork always’ values has made him a very reliable member of our Rigging team.”

Many of the comments on the post were from people congratulating Cousins, glad to see the positive turn his life is taking.

Working as a full-time scaffolder, Cousins has also been volunteering to help at-risk youth through the Kalt Collective organisation in Perth.

The reaction of many in the footy world to Cousins’ appearance on the Brownlow Medal red carpet with his date for the evening, Kelley Fergus, was overwhelmingly positive. Legendary AFL coach Kevin Sheedy tweeted: “Great to hear an absolute champion of our great game Ben Cousins is alive and well and is attending this year’s Brownlow Night and back in the AFL arena where he belongs.”

Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes told SEN radio catching up with Cousins and seeing him doing so well was the “highlight” of his night.

But speaking on The Back Page last month, football presenter Tara Rushton said we couldn’t forget Cousins’ past behaviour as the media romanticised his return. She added it was important not to ignore the experiences of his former partner as AFL fans were quick to voice their joy at seeing the 2005 Brownlow Medallist doing so well.

“I guess the thing that’s really interesting is it ended up being one of the biggest headlines from the night, that Ben Cousins walked the red carpet,” Rushton said on Fox Sports.

“I mean, it is great to see someone get their life back on the straight and narrow, you would hope. He’s had a long battle with mental demons, drug abuse, he’s been in jail. The media really fed into this story.

“I just worry sometimes that we can romanticise the return and forget about … the stalking charges that he had against him. I’m just thinking from the perspective of his partner and the kids that he has.

“So, first and foremost, mental health and to be fighting those battles, that’s a good thing — but I think we in the media really tried to romanticise that return and that homecoming as such.”