Paul Hamm’s Tough Road Back to Glory
Posted on 27 January 2012 by admin
International Gymnast yesterday posted a spirited article by Ward Black about Paul Hamm. Black lamented the lack of USAG press coverage about Hamm’s upcoming appearance at Winter Cup. Compounding the challenge of generating earned media for Winter Cup is that it’s once again being held on Super Bowl weekend. Also making a comeback to the big stage at Winter Cup is 2008 U.S. Champion David Sender, so there will be an aura of sentimentality.
“So, why was Paul Hamm, the Olympic all-around champion, who is competing in one-of-three ginormous pre-Olympic competitions, buried in USAG’s Jan. 23rd press release? Hamm was relegated to a brief mention in the sixth paragraph with zero mention of any past honors.”
Granted, Hamm had been slated to appear at previous Winter Cups, including last year’s, only to be unfortunately sidetracked by untimely injuries/surgeries. By all indications, especially his recently posted video on Facebook, Hamm is ready to roll. Nobody expects him to compete all six, and if he ends up doing two or three events, those attending next week’s competition in Las Vegas will not be disappointed.
Black went on to compare Hamm’s legal scrape to those of other athletes, some of which are now highly revered.
“The buzzwords of “arrest, assault, drunk and disorderly” do NOT represent the same “crimes” as those of Olympic diver Bruce Kimball, or the NFL’s Donte Stallworth, or track’s Marion Jones, and other high profile athletes charged and convicted of felonies… Do people think Olympic fighters and wrestlers are squeaky clean? Olympic gold medalist Muhammad Ali was a “draft dodger;” now a saint. Bode Miller went “old school” at the Olympics and partied hardy, and he is still skiing and winning races despite a ton of negative press.”
Quite frankly, while the state of U.S. men’s gymnastics is on an exciting upward trajectory, as Black rightfully points out, we need to “focus on the gymnastics, and on who are the five best American gymnasts to send to London to walk onto the podium come men’s team finals.” If Hamm demonstrates he can contribute, whether it’s on two or three events or all six, he deserves a fair shot at being picked for the team. What makes things more frustrating is that we can send only five gymnasts to London, which makes the decision-making process much more agonizing, both for fans and the selection committee.
Many people are disappointed in Hamm’s relative lack of public contrition, but he’s entitled to due process, and is undoubtedly following the advice of his attorney. Some have either speculated or knowingly hinted at the possibility that Hamm was hung out to dry by friends that fateful night in Columbus. Perhaps he was tossed into the cab to fend for himself. This is not an excuse, but just another way to look at all the possible scenarios that evening. He will eventually have his day in court, and all of this but the personal memory and YouTube video will remain. Paul Hamm has produced a life-long body of work that commands respect. It should not be spoiled by one bad night. He still deserves respect and a completely fair shot at making the ’12 team. Whether or not he deserves that spot will be entirely up to him to prove.
January 28th, 2012 at 1:12 am
Paul Hamm is on some kind of road. At this point, that is all anyone can say.
Nobody can argue Hamm doesn’t deserve a fair shot. It would be unfair (and stupid) for USAG to do otherwise.
There is no real evidence USAG intends to do otherwise. Hamm withdrew from Beijing, 2011 WC and 2011 Nationals…all after a lot of hype. One can hardly blame USAG for not shoving his name ahead of Leyva’s or Orozco’s on a press release.
That said, both his taxi ride AND his Olympic Gold are in the past. For Hamm, this Winter Cup should be about what he can do now..not what he did on one summer night – whether it was few months ago or 8 years ago.
January 28th, 2012 at 5:36 pm
Agreed. I believe most of the fans attending next weekend are looking forward to seeing Hamm compete, and are hoping for the best. In all likelihood, what they will see might not be up to par with what they’ve seen in the past. But can you imagine the buzz he would generate if he exceeds even average expectations? I would expect USAG would like nothing more than to see whatever he ends up competing to be one of many highlights to come from this meet. The sport will be better off if he ends up being in the mix come June, because I believe his presence would bring out the best in everybody else. If not, then we still have a lot to look forward to.
January 30th, 2012 at 9:46 pm
“But can you imagine the buzz he would generate if he exceeds even average expectations?”
I live in fear of this. Until his taxi ride, some people were already putting Hamm on the 2012 team, calling him America’s PH saviour, and considering a threat to Uchimura.
It’s actually not fair …. to Hamm. In Vegas, he should be judged as any other participant in a sporting event should be – compared to the others in the field he is actually competing against, as opposed Kohei Uchimura, Paul Hamm 2004, or the image of Paul Hamm some people have created for themselves.
He will probably compete FX and PH, mabye VT and PB. While he does not look perfect in his training videos, he should be able to look decent against most of the competition.
I wonder if it has occured to anyone that Paul Hamm might not want a lot of attention going into Winter Cup. He’s kept a low profile as opposed to the run up to last year before WC or VISAs.
The usual gymnastics reporters will be much more likely to focus on his gymnastics than members of the mainstream media would be. Hamm may be glad the latter will probably not be out in force at Winter Cup.
January 31st, 2012 at 12:36 am
Thanks to it being Super Bowl weekend, the mainstream media will likely be elsewhere working on the next morning’s hangover! Hamm’s low profile is a good thing. As you say, he should be judged as any other participant, & I’m sure that will be the case. I like to think he’s got a good shot at making the ’12 team, but it will take more than a good showing at WC for him to posture himself for that. Personally, if he’s able to do it, he would be more valuable to the team competing on 2-4 events in London. Uchimura is in a league of his own, and if he hits, he wins. Hamm’s prime years are behind him, but if he’s healthy & able, his most valuable contribution to U.S. gymnastics could end up being as a prized role player in ’12. If he’s still competing on Saturday night, he just might be on his way. At any rate, a lot of folks in attendance will sure be hoping for that scenario. It would be just as well that the mainstream media ended up missing it. Low profile just might be the ticket.