Paris Officials Bust Male Field Hockey Player During Alleged Narcotics Buy

Australian Olympian Tom Craig isn't leaving Paris with a medal, but the Aussie field hockey player has to be happy he's going home at all after being arrested by police for allegedly attempting to purchase cocaine earlier this week.

In the company of family, friends and teammates teammates at Hotel Maison after both his team and the women's squad lost in the quarterfinals, Craig left the gathering and attempted to purchase a gram of cocaine, according to The Herald Sun.

The alleged “cocaine transaction," which also involved a 17-year-old seller who was also taken into custody, was disrupted by law enforcement and Craig was arrested after a brief attempt to evade pursuing police officers proved unsuccessful.

Craig, 28, spent the night in a Paris police station but was released after approximately 18 hours in custody with a warning, but no fine or record. Hockey Australia will be looking into the matter and it is possible Craig will still face sanctions due to the incident.

Following his release, Craig addressed the media outside the police station. “Firstly, I would like to apologize for what has occurred over the last 24 hours,” he said. “I made a terrible mistake and I take full responsibility for my actions. 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 and I’m truly sorry.”

A leader of the Australian delegation in Paris told The Washington Post that Craig had already moved out of the Olympic Village and would “lose all his remaining Olympic privileges,” including the ability to attend the Closing Ceremonies.

“Athletes are very welcome, and they should be able to, go out and celebrate. That’s not an un-normal thing,” said delegation leader Anna Meares. “It’s the simple actions and the decision here for Tom [that is the problem], and he’s owned up to that."

Craig, who won a siilver medal for his country at the Tokyo games in 2021, is with his family and will fly German in the near future to play club field hockey for a professional team. Given what happened, he's fortunate to be leaving at all.