Tom Craig, an Australian hockey player, apologized after being freed from detention in Paris after being detained on suspicion of purchasing cocaine.
According to the prosecutor’s office in Paris, someone was detained on Tuesday evening for purchasing cocaine in the ninth arrondissement.
Craig was not found guilty or fined; instead, he was discharged with a warning.
As he walked out of police stations, Craig declared, “I’d firstly like to apologise for what has occurred in the last 24 hours. I made a terrible mistake. I take full responsibility for my actions.”
“My actions are my own and in no way reflect the values of my family, my team-mates, my friends, my sport, and the Australian Olympic team. I’ve embarrassed you all. I’m truly sorry.”
Craig, 28, is an Australian player with over 100 appearances who took home a silver medal in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Though she was “glad” that Craig had been freed, Australia’s chef de mission Anna Meares stated that she “cannot condone” his actions.
She went on, “He’s a decent man who made a poor choice. However, choices such as this have repercussions.
“He has apologised, shown remorse, he has owned up to his mistake, and we will support him if he needs help.”
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According to Meares, Craig has already left the Olympic Village and will no longer be able to access any facilities during the Games.
Prior to his release, the prosecutor’s office said that, On the evening of August 6th to 7th, police officers who were watching a cocaine transaction at the base of a building in the 9th arrondissement (of Paris) arrested the buyer, who was reportedly a member of the Australian field hockey team and born in September 1995, and the seller, who was born in December 2006.”
“Given the quantities of drugs seized from the seller, the investigation has been entrusted to the anti-narcotics police.” Both Australia’s women’s and men’s hockey teams were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Paris 2024 tournament.
