FALLEN AFL star Ben Cousins should no longer be considered a hero, Carlton coach Mick Malthouse says.

Malthouse, who coached Cousins for the first four years of his career at West Coast, added that the Brownlow medallist’s fall from grace had been partially caused by the media.

Cousins was arrested on Monday for the third time in as many weeks and has undergone a mental health assessment.

It follows a well-documented battle with drug addiction that saw him sacked by the Eagles in 2007.

Malthouse said he was unaware Cousins was ravaged by the need to consume drugs when he revived his career at Richmond in 2008. 

"Ben is not a hero anymore," Malthouse told radio FIVEaa on Tuesday evening.

"Make no mistake, he was a hero when he started playing.

"I am mortified that I was there (coaching in the AFL) in 2008, '09, '10, to think that he was on those drugs – I am mortified.

"That's total naivety or he certainly hid it from me."

Youth campaigner Les Twentyman has publicly stated the media was a contributing factor in Cousins' fall from grace.

Malthouse reinforced Twentyman's views and called for football leagues around the country to think twice before recruiting players who do not respect and uphold club protocols.

"He (Twentyman) is right on the money, this bloke lives among this sort of stuff and he said that … the media pumped him (Cousins) up as a hero," Malthouse said.

"He is so spot on; we cannot put these people on a pedestal.

"We've got to check every player that comes into a football club, we've got to check every player that leaves the higher end (AFL) and plays country football – if that person doesn’t fit the certain criteria, do not have him there."