Australian hockey player gets 1-year ban for trying to buy cocaine during Paris Olympics

By Tayyaba Nisar Khan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Australian national Hockey team Kookaburras member Tom Craig was banned for a year from sports events following his drug bust arrest during this summer’s Paris Olympics, media outlets reported late Tuesday.

He was arrested by the French police, who "witnessed him attempting" to purchase cocaine during the Games after Australia’s defeat to the Netherlands.

After being released, Craig apologized for making a “terrible mistake,” ABC News reported.

Craig will fully serve the first six months of the ban, with six months suspended "contingent upon meeting conduct and behavioral requirements," authorities said.

Citing Craig’s welfare, Hockey Australia will allow access to athlete support services during his suspension.

Craig has played 142 matches for the Kookaburras, and won a silver medal with his team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which took place in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.