Maxime Hamou was already ousted from the French Open, but what he did after the loss will keep him away from Roland Garros for some time.
The 21-year-old French tennis player was banned from the French Open on Tuesday after he harassed a reporter live on television following his early-round loss to Pablo Cuevas. Hamou was interviewed on French television by Maly Thomas, who was hugged, kissed and nuzzled by Hamou while a panel of journalists on French television watched the live report.
https://twitter.com/MikeMorgendorf1/status/869559990855577601
Hamou forced his arm around Thomas, who was trying to get an interview with the player after the match. Once within his reach, Hamou then started to kiss her on the forehead and neck. I’m not sure what was said, but she looked extremely uncomfortable, trying to move away from him and stop his advances. Eventually, she wrestled herself out of his reach and the television cameras quickly cut away.
On Tuesday, the French tennis federation banned him from the grounds.
“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.
Hamou was already out of the tournament, so this doesn’t exactly hurt him in the short term. But it’s a strong message that this kind of behavior between players and media isn’t acceptable.
