Remember Blaine Wilson, the five-time national champ who dominated U.S. men's gymnastics in the mid-to-late '90s? Remember what a rebel he was, with that rakish five o'clock shadow and tough guy aura?
Wilson was just what USA Gymnastics needed back in the day -- a man who did iron crosses on rings gritting his teeth as though he were stabbing a lit cigar into his arm. A man who smirked and swaggered and saw no need to spit out his gum before doing a full floor routine.
A man who tore his bicep six months before the 2004 Olympics and was back up on rings five months later. A man who made fairweather fans forget he was wearing spandex.
At some point, struggling to create mass market appeal for an underappreciated sport, the sport's governing body might have missed his badass persona.
Of course, there were no videos of Wilson toppling over drunk and handcuffed in the back of a police car. And that is the unfortunate part for 2004 Olympic champion Paul Hamm, who was arrested last Saturday night for assaulting a cab driver outside Columbus, Ohio.
Thanks to the internet and a local TV station, gymnastics fans can watch horrified as an intoxicated and belligerent Hamm gets forced onto the hood of a police car and then tells officers he's going to kill them.
This is not the bad boy USA Gymnastics -- or any other sport -- wants. Unfortunately now they're saddled with it, from the greatest American gymnast in history, who happens to be trying to make a comeback for the 2012 Olympics. Awkward.
The difference between Wilson, the greatest U.S. gymnast of his generation, and Hamm, the greatest of his, is that Wilson made the bad boy thing work for him. Hamm, who graduated magna cum laude from Ohio State and worked as a financial trader in Chicago until last year, seemed squeaky clean before that embarrassing video surfaced Wednesday.
It's hard to know how this incident will affect Hamm and his much anticipated comeback. In 2008, injuries derailed a potentially glorious Olympic return. Drunk and disorderly conduct from star athletes tends to be excused (if not exactly venerated) in many popular sports, so perhaps with a contrite apology, alcohol counseling and maybe a little bit of community service Paul Hamm will make a complete recovery.
Gymnastically, anyway. His reputation is probably changed for good -- or, well, bad.
Postscript: A note about Wilson, who incidentally was replaced by Hamm as one of Ohio State's assistant coaches earlier this year: Wilson actually did struggle with alcholism after he retired from gymnastics in 2004.
His attempt at a comeback in 2008, when he was 33 and attending AA meetings, stalled at the U.S. Championships but nonetheless delighted his fans, who rooted for the bad boy all the way. Since retiring, he has continued coaching in Ohio. Last season, he was one of Ohio State's interim head coaches.
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