Olympic curling champion booted for ‘drunken’ antics

LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- Olympic gold medallist Ryan Fry was among a group of four curlers thrown out of a tournament in Canada for “extreme drunkenness,” reports said Monday.

Fry, who won gold for Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, was tossed out of the Red Deer Curling Classic along with Jamie Koe, DJ Kidby and Chris Schille for “unsportsmanlike behavior,” several reports said.

“They went out to curl and they were extremely drunk and breaking brooms and swearing and just unacceptable behavior that nobody wants to watch or hear or listen to and it was just ‘enough was enough,’” Wade Thurber, the competition venue manager, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

“There was some damage in the locker room and other teams complaining about their stuff being kicked around in the locker room,” Thurber added. “So at the end of the day, it was like ‘OK, that’s enough of this gong show.’”

The World Curling Tour said in a statement on Twitter that the team had been disqualified for “unsportsmanlike behavior,” forfeiting their remaining game.

Fry meanwhile issued an apology for actions he described as “disrespectful and embarrassing.”

“The committee was right to disqualify us from play,” Fry said in the statement. “I allowed myself to lose control and I offended people with my actions. I wish nothing more than to apologize to everyone individually.

“I will be taking proper steps to ensure this problem can never happen again and I will strive to become a better version of myself while contributing positively to the sport and curling community that I love so much.”