Suzy Favor Hamilton Removed From Award Following Prostitution Scandal
Suzy Favor Hamilton's name is being removed from the Big Ten award after the track star admitted previously working as a prostitute.
In December last year, the former United States Olympian revealed that she had worked for a Las Vegas based escort agency.
As a result of the revelation, Big Ten spokesman Scott Chipman said Tuesday that Suzy Favor Hamilton's name was removed from the Female Athlete of the Year award after discussions between the league and Wisconsin.
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Following her admission to The Smoking Gun website last year, Favor Hamilton accepted responsibility for working for the service via Twitter, and cited depression for taking the job as a 600-dollar-an-hour escort.
"I realize I have made highly irrational choices and I take full responsibility for them," the three-time Olympian posted to Twitter. "I am not a victim here and knew what I was doing."
Favor Hamilton noted that she began "escorting" as a means to find "coping mechanisms" and "escape" from the depression and struggle within her marriage.
She added, "I do not expect people to understand, but the reasons fordoing 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."
Furthermore, Favor Hamilton assured Twitter users at the time that she would seek help and make amends.
"I have been seeking the help of a psychologist for the past few years and will continue to do so after I have put things together," she wrote. "I cannot emphasize enough how sorry I am to anyone I have hurt as a result of my actions and greatly appreciate the support from family and those closest to me. I fully intend to make amends and get back to being a good mother, wife, daughter, and friend."
The professional middle distance runner was a nine-time N.C.A.A. champion at Wisconsin, and won the Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year Award three consecutive times beginning in 1988.
Before light was shed on her double life, Favor Hamilton had been a motivational speaker, real estate agent, and pitchwoman for the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association.
Today, the 44-year-old is still married to her college sweetheart, Mark Hamilton. They share a seven-year-old daughter and live in Madison, Wisconsin.
