The French Open wasted no time taking action against Maxime Hamou after the 21-year-old tennis player repeatedly tried to forcibly kiss Eurosport reporter Maly Thomas on Tuesday at Roland Garros.
Maxime Hamou banned from French Open after forcibly kissing reporter on live TV
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
On Wednesday, the French Tennis Federation announced that Hamou had been banned from the event and could face further punishment.
“The management of the tournament has decided to revoke Maxime Hamou’s accreditation following his reprehensible behavior with a journalist yesterday.”
The incident happened during the French sports show Avantage Leconte when Thomas attempted to interview Hamou on the concourse outside center court. Hamou grabbed Thomas shortly after the interview began and attempted to kiss her on the head and neck, while she pulled away.
Thomas said she did her best to remain calm during the interview, but later told Huffington Post France that she would have punched him had the camera not been rolling on a live TV show.
The horrible incident was heightened by the hosts back in the Avantage Leconte studio, who could be heard laughing while watching their coworker get assaulted by a player. Eurosport, the network that runs Avantage Leconte, issued a statement, but it did not condemn the reaction by their employees on the show.
“We sincerely regret the incident that occurred during yesterday evening’s interview between Maly Thomas and Maxime Hamou. The behavior of the interviewee was highly inappropriate and we do not condone such conduct in any way. Maly is a highly respected journalist and we are pleased that a full apology is being offered.”
Hamou apologized to Thomas during an interview with French newspaper L’Equipe.
“I want to offer my deepest apologies to Maly Thomas if she felt hurt or shocked by my attitude during her interview. I just had a wonderful week here in Roland Garros living some of my most beautiful moments as a tennis player, and I let my enthusiasm overflow, which caused me to express myself awkwardly towards Maly, who I know and sincerely respect. Nothing of all that is written was my intention. I am at her disposal to apologize to her in person if she so wishes. I learn every day from my mistakes to become a better tennis player and a better person.”
Thomas has not issued a response to Hamou’s apology or said whether the player contacted her personally to apologize.
h/t The Guardian
