Olympian’s shocking act after getting caught allegedly trying to buy cocaine at Paris Olympics
An Australian Olympic hockey star was caught allegedly trying to buy cocaine in Paris on Tuesday (6 August).
Tom Craig is a striker for the Australian men's Olympic hockey team, who got knocked out at the quarter final stage on Sunday (4 August). Though like other athletes, he was permitted to stay in the Olympic Village until the closing ceremony on 11 August.
However, the sportsman was spotted by French police as he was allegedly trying to buy cocaine on Tuesday, with him being caught and arrested in the northern Pigalle area of the French capital, near a building in the 9th arrondissement.
The qualified solicitor addressed the media this morning:
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The hockey player spent Tuesday night in custody, before being released on Wednesday afternoon, luckily without a prosecution or a fine.
In his statement before leaving the Olympic Village, he said to the press: "I'd firstly like to apologise for what has occurred over the past 24 hours. I made a terrible mistake and I take full responsibility for my actions.
"My actions are my own and in no way reflect the values of my family, my teammates, my friends, my sport and the Australian Olympic Committee. I've embarrassed you all and I'm truly sorry."
Following his arrest, the athlete faced a summary hearing on Wednesday night with his lawyers - it was discovered that he was arrested 15 minutes after leaving an Australian team function.
He was seen on the pavement with his hands behind his back, as officers carried out an investigation of the area, in a photo captured after he was arrested.
Bernard Savage, the high performance director of Australian hockey, met Craig in police custody, describing the state of the star: "He was dishevelled. He was tired. He was hungry. He was stressed."
However, it was revealed that once Craig realised that police had spotted him, he tried to run away, but ultimately failed as he was cuffed and placed on the pavement.
Australia's chef de mission, Anna Meares, publicly announced Craig's punishment in a statement this morning, saying that he was 'a good person who had made a poor decision but there are consequences for decisions like this'.
She continued: "I cannot condone what Tom has done. Our team has been exemplary at these Games and his actions do not reflect the values of the team nor does it diminish this team's performance.
"He has apologised, shown remorse, he has owned up to his mistake, and we will support him if he needs help," she explained.
Because of this, he can no longer take part in the games.
"As a result, Tom will lose all his remaining Olympic privileges. He had already moved out of the Olympic Village, and I understand he was not intending to return for the Closing Ceremony. If he were, he would not be able to attend," Mears revealed.
"In terms of our actions, at this point there is not much further we can do as this happened outside the team environment."
Former Australian swimmer Emily Seebohm tried to find a reason for his actions when asked about the arrest today, during KIIS 97.3's Robin & Kip radio show.
"I think it’s one of those tough positions in sport where sometimes your sport doesn't go necessarily the way you think it’s going to go," the four-time Olympian admitted.
"And there is like a post, big meet competition depression that a lot of athletes go through.
"A lot of athletes are the stages where they're like, 'Do I go on? Do I wait another four years? Can I do it again?' And this is the time where they're exploring that option, whether it’s going to be it for them, or they want to keep going."
LADbible group has reached out to Hockey Australia and the Paris Prosecutor's Office for comment.
Joshua Nair