Regular Nova 100 breakfast sports commentator Ben Cousins has been in the news this week after being suddenly hospitalized after an adverse reaction to a sleeping pill. When asked by Nova’s Hughesy and Kate why he wasn’t in the Nova studios on Tuesday Ben’s response was: “I slept through the alarm.”

Cousins told the pair it was Tuesday lunch time when he discharged himself from hospital: “It was touch and go situation, one I don’t want to find myself in again. It came about purely through an accident or bad management.”

Cousins discussed Richmond’s comeback with their win on the weekend and how that led to the medical incident:

“I was stoked, couldn’t have been happier. Being a six day break, I guess with the win we had it was reason for a celebration… I went home, my misses cooked me a feed, I sat on the couch and rang the world so I could try to get to sleep, and watched Tour de France, when it was time and I thought I had had enough I have to get some sleep (about 2 am)… I hadn’t been drinking at all. I think that was miscommunicated in the media.”

Hughesy: “You don’t mix alcohol with sleeping tablets?”

Ben: “No that is bad practice.”

Kate: “So you decided to take the sleeping pill given to you by the team doctor.”

Ben: “Yep, but I just took the wrong dosage. I have been taking sleeping pills for a long time and it was just something that went amiss. I had an adverse reaction.”

Hughesy: “Did you take double what you would normally take?”

Ben: “Yeh along those lines.”

Kate: “Was it a tablet you had taken before?” 

Ben: “No it was a new one.”

Ben Cousins insisted on taking a drug test to prove he had not taken illegal drugs.

“That was the first call I made when I left the hospital. When you throw mud in my direction it sticks, even I (if in their place) would be curious to know what is my system… I thought it was in my best interest, it alleviates any innuendo that might come my way.”

Listen to the audio of the interview below:

Segment 1 

Segment 2