"Wayne's World": media narratives of the downfall and redemption about Australian football "King," Wayne Carey

Wayne Carey was the type of football player about whom coaches, fans, and sponsors dream: a handsome, strapping country boy, who married his teenage sweetheart, captained his Australian Football League (AFL) team to two national championships, was nicknamed "King," and became one of Australia's most recognizable and marketable sports stars and a celebrity. However, his distinguished, 15-year sporting career ended following a series of off-field scandals that included a highly publicized extramarital affair, indecent assault, alleged domestic violence, physical altercations with police in two countries, and alcohol and drug abuse, leading to therapy and public confessions of his transgressions. Carey' s demise and attempts at salvation were some of the most widely covered media events in recent history... Rather than providing an exhaustive overview of a story of this magnitude, we have thematically analyzed the main media narratives surrounding Carey's downfall and attempted redemption...