The Big Ten Conference has reacted to the revelations that former Wisconsin runner and Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton worked as a high price call girl in Las Vegas by removing her name from the trophy honoring the best female athlete in the conference, according to the Associated Press.
Scott Chipman, spokesman for the Big Ten Conference, said that the conference had extensive discussions with the University of Wisconsin before making the decision to remove Hamilton's name from the award.
The website The Smoking Gun discovered that the three-time Olympian had been leading a double life as a $600-an-hour escort by the name of Kelly Lundy last year. Hamilton was discovered when she decided to tell some of her customers of her true identity; either hoping that her secret life would be revealed or that the customers would be too embarrassed to share the information.
"I take full responsibility for my mistakes," Hamilton said. "I'm not the victim and I'm not going that route. I'm owning up to what I did. I would not blame anybody except myself. Everybody in this world makes mistakes. I made a huge mistake. Huge."
Shortly before the scandal was revealed Hamilton was interviewed in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about her performance in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Hamilton's brother, Dan, had committed suicide before the games and Hamilton dedicated her entire performance to him, hoping to "do something big" in his honor.
Despite leading for the majority of the 1,500 meter final Hamilton started to fade and would eventually collapse on the track.
"There was nothing positive going through my brain," Hamilton told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "Coming around that corner the anxiety gripped me so bad. It told my brain, 'Just fall. That's the easiest solution. Just fall, and this all will go away.' That was the only way out."
Prior to her secret life as an escort Hamilton had been in demand for speaking engagements all over the country including places such as Disneyland, according to the Associated Press.
The award formerly named after Hamilton was given to Minnesota hockey player Amanda Kessel, the sister of Toronto Maple Leaf Phil Kessel, after she led the Golden Gophers to an undefeated season and their second NCAA title in as many years. The conference has not announced what they plan on renaming the trophy.
