Australian Olympic hockey player Tom Craig fled from police during his arrest for buying a gram of cocaine on the streets of Paris before realising he could not escape pursuing officers.
His teammates followed him to the French police station, with his family then contacting Australian lawyers as they organised his release.
The Kookaburras team member has had all Olympic rights stripped from him, been prohibited from the premise of the athlete’s village and banned from participating in the 2024 Paris Olympics closing ceremony.
His position on the Kookaburras will be determined separately in accordance with their own integrity framework as team Chef de Mission Anna Meares said she had warned other Olympic sporting teams about their behaviour while celebrating Paris achievements.
The 28-year-old, who is a qualified solicitor, was released with “a probationary criminal warning for drug use” after nearly 18 hours in custody following his arrest for trying to buy cocaine in a team get together at midnight on Tuesday, August 6.
“I made a terrible mistake and I take full responsibility for my actions,” Craig later commented.
“My actions are my own and by no way reflect the values of my family, my teammates, my friends, my sport and the Australian Olympic team… I’ve embarrassed you all. I’m truly sorry,” he added.
Meares said her understanding was that Craig was attempting to buy drugs only for himself.
“I cannot condone what Tom has done. He is a good person who made a bad decision. But there are consequences that come with decisions like this… his actions do not reflect the values of this team,” she said.
Source: The Australian.
