Favor Hamilton Loses Big Ten Honor Months After Escort Scandal

Former Olympian and Wisconsin track legend Suzy Favor Hamilton will no longer have her name associated with the Big Ten’s Female Athlete of the Year award, according to Busted Coverage’s Joe Student.

Members of the conference and the University of Wisconsin discussed their plans for the trophy, according to Big Ten spokesman Scott Chipman (via USA Today). The announcement to remove Favor Hamilton’s name was made on Tuesday, and as of yet, no replacement name appears to be in the mix.

The decision to remove Favor Hamilton as the award’s namesake comes six months after The Smoking Gun found images and information revealing the former three-time Olympian’s stint as a paid escort in Las Vegas. 

Favor Hamilton’s secret lifestyle included going by the fake name “Kelly Lundy” and charging $600 an hour for her company. Her real identity was discovered after she shared it with several patrons.  

After initially denying her work in Las Vegas to reporters, Favor Hamilton confessed to being an escort and asked for forgiveness. She also took to Twitter to appeal and apologize to her fans, saying her decision to turn to escorting was a product of depression, among other things.

Favor Hamilton, 44, won the Big Ten’s Female Athlete of the Year award three consecutive times while running for Wisconsin and has seven U.S. national titles to her name. 

Since leaving the sport, she has been employed in multiple endeavors. Prior to her escort activity, she worked as a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers and gave public speaking engagements at Disneyland. 

Prior to the news of her secret lifestyle leaking, Favor Hamilton told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 2012 that she was suffering from emotional setbacks, including postpartum depression following the birth of her daughter.

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