Maxime Hamou, 21, makes headlines all the time, but this time, unfortunately, it wasn’t for his tennis skills. Here are five things to know about the French athlete who had his French Open credentials revoked after attempting to kiss a female reporter during an interview on May 30.
1. He was banned from the French Open tennis tournament after attempting to kiss a reporter. Following a first-round loss to Pablo Cuevas, he tried to kiss Eurosport journalist Maly Thomas as she interviewed him (see the video above.) “The management of the tournament has decided to revoke Maxime Hamou’s accreditation following his reprehensible behavior with a journalist yesterday,” the French Tennis Federation said in a statement. Oof.
2. Maxime is ranked 282nd in world standings. He also has a career high ATP singles ranking of 211, and a career high ATP doubles ranking of 744. All this is to say that he was pretty good at what he did, prior to the groping incident.
3. He’s well-connected in the sports world. Maxime is friends with fellow tennis star Paul Henri Mathieu, and the two often hang out together.
4. Maxime has since apologized on social media for kissing Maly. “I offer my deep apologies to Maly Thomas if she feels hurt or shocked by my attitude during her interview,” the athlete said. Okay, so that’s not the best apology we’ve heard.
5. French officials have also weighed in. Laura Flessel, France’s Minister of Sports and a former Olympic fencer, said: “No, a live assault is not funny. Never let it happen, never trivialize such acts.” Agreed.
HollywoodLifers, do you think Maxime deserves this punishment? Tell us how you feel about all of this.