Suzy Favor Hamilton Dropped From Major Award Over Prostitution

Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton’s name is being stricken form the Big Ten award after she admitted to working as a high-priced call girl/prostitute in Las Vegas.

The former track star admitted last December to working for a Vegas-based escort agency after being confronted by a reporter for The Smoking Gun. Months later, Big Ten spokesman Scott Chipman said that Suzy Favor Hamilton’s name would be taken off the Female Athlete of the Year award.

Favor competed in the Olympics in 1992, 1996 and 2000. She was reported to have worked as a $600-per-hour escort in Vegas, which she described as a “coping mechanism” for her depression and other emotional issues.

After the revelations, she attempted to explain her actions and take personal responsibility in a series of tweets.

“I realize I have made highly irrational choices and I take full responsibility for them,” she said. “I am not a victim here and knew what I was doing.”

She continued:

“I do not expect people to understand, but the reasons for doing this made sense to me at the time and were very much related to depression. As crazy as I know it seems, I never thought I would be exposed, therefore never hurting anybody.”

She said that she has been actively seeking help from a psychologist, apologized to her fans, and said that she will work hard to “make amends and get back to being a good mother, wife, daughter, and friend.”

The 44-year-old athlete was the Big Ten’s female athlete of the year three times in a row, starting in 1988. She is one of the most famous and celebrated athletes at Wisconsin. She has won seven U.S. national titles. Her last was in 1999.

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[Image via: The Smoking Gun]