I think they should share the Gold Medal and that Hamm should offer to share the Gold medal.
http://www.chicagosportsreview.com/c...w.asp?c=121093
Paul Hamm, In Keeping Medal, Misses Opportunity
Friday, August 27, 2004
By Tom Alexander
The moment when Paul Hamm hit his high bar routine was one of the most electrifying sports moments I’ve ever seen.
I can’t recall seeing something that I immediately felt was so outstanding, and I can’t really recall being more happy for someone than I was for Paul Hamm. He came back from disaster, and based off of performance, he certainly deserved his gold medal.
I watch sports for a living, and what this guy did on the bar, and (in general) in competition throughout the Olympics was truly exceptional. During play, he’s one of the most spectacular athletes in America right now.
That said, off the field of play, I don’t think he gets it.
I believe pretty firmly that if the situation was reversed, and it was Hamm who had been slighted the Gold Medal, that there would have been enough clamor that he’d have received one as well. Judges errors notwithstanding, I think it’s hard to fathom a situation that the United States, the United States Olympic Committee, and the very dedicated fans of this country would let such an atrocity deny the truth. It simply would not have happened.
I watched the Olympics men’s all-around, and Paul Hamm destroyed the competition. Save for his fall on the vault, he’d have coasted to a gold medal victory. He had to give up ½ a point (which is like a ten-yard head start in the hundred meters) just so it would be close. His performance, simply put, was gold medal worthy, and that of a champion.
He is missing the opportunity, though, to lay down a serious message to the rest of the world: that the United States is a benevolent power, in search of justice and truth and honesty, whatever the cost. I don’t think Paul Hamm gets how much impact he can have on the world.
There is no denying that giving up a gold medal, for an Olympic athlete, is an enormous sacrifice. Hamm deserves his medal, and Hamm deserves to be lauded for his performances. But Hamm has an opportunity to do something that is extraordinary, that embodies the Olympic spirit, that transcends sports.
If Paul Hamm stood up, and gave a speech in which he said, “I would like to either A) share the gold medal or B) pass along my gold medal to gentleman from Korea,” it would not be an admission of defeat.
It would not be an admission that he had been outperformed, nor would it be an admission that he is not as good as the Korean gymnast. It would simply be an admission that Paul Hamm, as a representative of the United States, is willing to do whatever it takes for justice, no matter the cost.
I think Paul Hamm underestimates the rousing support he’d receive from the American public for such an action, and I think he fails to acknowledge how much we’d all suffer with him should he give up his gold medal. I think he feels like the world is against him (he’s said as much), and I think he is wrong.
I think the world is with him, hurting for him, understanding the predicament in which he’s found himself. I think the world, deep down, wants him to do this right. They want him to give us an example of honor over accolades.
Athletes put together remarkable performances every day. Some are recognized, some are not; some have huge influence in their sport, some have less. But once in awhile, a situation comes along where an athlete has a real and genuine opportunity to change the world-a chance to provide a lesson to every person on the globe about what how people should treat each other, and what is truly important at the end of the day.
Paul Hamm is an Olympic hero, to be sure. He’s an amazing athlete as well. Both of these, however, pale in comparison with the opportunity that he has to be an example for the world.
These opportunities are fleeting, and far-between, and I hope he recognizes this, before it’s too late.