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2004 Olympic all-around champion Paul Hamm (U.S.) is facing serious legal issues after being accused of assault in Ohio. Hamm, 28, was arrested Saturday in Columbus after police say he punched and kicked a taxi cab driver and damaged the cab. He was charged with assault, criminal damaging and for not paying for a service.  Paul Hamm (U.S.) Following the alleged incident, Hamm was captured on video arguing with police officers. He can be heard telling the officers he had consumed "probably eight drinks" and can be heard saying, "I'm going to kill you guys." Hamm is in his first season as assistant coach at Ohio State University. According to reports, university officials stated they will allow due process before taking any course of action. Hamm is the most successful male gymnast in U.S. history, with three Olympic and five world medals. Along with his twin brother, Morgan Hamm, he competed at back-to-back Olympic Games in 2000 and 2004. In 2003, Paul Hamm became the first American male to win the all-around title at the world championships. He followed that with another historic achievement - winning the all-around title at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Following Athens, Hamm took time off from gymnastics competition. He graduated from Ohio State magna cum laude with a degree in accounting in 2007. He made a comeback in 2008 and was named to his third Olympic team, but stepped down from the team due to hand and shoulder injuries. He had been planning on returning to competition in 2011, before suffering another shoulder injury. He has stated he plans to return to competition at the 2012 Winter Cup in February. Hamm, who turns 29 on Sept. 24, is free on bond and has a Sept. 15 court date for arraignment. Comments (16)
Anonymous
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... What?!!! He always had a reputation of being a nice, clean-cut Midwestern guy. Guess appearances are deceiving. WOW. |
Sam
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... Golden medal curse. Never belonged to him. It is time to send it back. Or is it Nemov Curse  |
lf
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... I suppose the fact that the AA gold medal from the 2004 Olympics didn't really belong to him, finally got to him... It's not really surprising... |
Thomas C
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Embarrassing! Roid Rage...that's funny! C'mon Paul. I almost didn't believe it to be true, imagining the munchkin voice in an altercation with police. Looks like someone needs to lay off the booze and go see the wizard for a new liver. It would've been funnier if it were Daniel Leyva's dad he assaulted, no? Good Luck Paul! Get back on track and if you're serious about your comeback then show it. |
Gojira
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Par for the Course In this day in age of sex tapes & reality TV stars - this is not the least bit surprising. |
Hobbes Jones
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Drinking? I didn't know that gymnasts drink. Is this normal for a gymnast? Does Morgan drink too? |
Robert Neat
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... Makes me sad, another example of how we keep failing our athletes. Our most decorated male athlete of all time...drunk, passed out and alone in the back of a police crusier. |
Anonymous
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Huh? Robert Neat, how did anyone "fail him?" He's a grown man who made a very, very poor decision. He is responsible for his own actions and cannot blame anyone else. |
Frank Hui
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... Can we calm down for moment and examine the facts. He was arrested and he was drunk. It doesn't mean he's an alcoholic or a wild man or is battling personal demons. Until further evidence says otherwise, we should not jump to the conclusion this is an ongoing problem. We're not talking about narcotics. More importantly, even the smartest, wisest person can exercise poor judgement or have a reckless moment. Not to mention Hamm is small and not exactly massive in weight, so the alcohol may have affected him more strongly. And some people are just plain ugly when they do get drunk. OSU is taking a sensible approach. |
Alex W
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Wow I'm so surprised. I just met him at IGC and worked onnmy gymnastics with him for 2 weeks. He never said anything mean or out of the ordinary. |
Robin
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... All it takes is one dumb mistake to potentially ruin a career. It's very disappointing. Well, here's to Paul getting back on track and being successful again--at whatever he decides to do. |
oleg
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coach So what,big dill,He is yong man,maybe littel dring to mach and start fight with some taxi draver,every body have mistakes,he is not angel,he is a human ,and who him judjing is wrong,he is all ready probably realise what he did is wrong,but he is was right,he was not drave under the influens of alcohol,I hope he will be fine,he is Ok american boy,just littel proud some times. |
Ana Raquel F.
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... I never thought he would be like this. We all better stay AWAY from him. Just because he was olympic champion doesn't mean he can attack people and threaten them. I wonder if he takes other drugs.  |
