TAPPING OUT

US Olympic Gold Medalist Enters Plea in Prostitution Case

The wrestling star was one of 16 people arrested in a sting operation earlier this month.

Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler Kyle Snyder took a plea deal in his prostitution case Monday.

The champion wrestler—who served on President Donald Trump‘s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition during his first term—was one of 16 people arrested in a prostitution sting operation earlier this month, when he was charged with engaging in prostitution, a first-degree misdemeanor. He pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor disorderly conduct in the deal, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

The 29-year-old, who won gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, was ordered to pay a $250 fine and attend a “John School,” which is a program meant for men who have been arrested for soliciting sex, after his arrest.

TAKEDOWN

Olympic Gold Medalist Arrested in Prostitution Sting

Paulina Rodriguez

On May 9, Snyder responded to a fake internet advertisement planted by law enforcement and met an undercover agent at a hotel, thinking she was an escort, the Columbus Police Department in Ohio said.

Police told TMZ Sports in a statement that Snyder then handed the agent cash in exchange for oral sex and was “arrested for engaging in prostitution by uniformed officers inside the hotel room.”

Snyder’s defense attorney, Eric Hoffman, said that the wrestler was “deeply aware of the impact on those who look up to him” and “has handled this matter with honesty and integrity.”

Snyder posted about his arrest on his social media accounts Wednesday, thanking those who stood by him.

He wrote: “I want to thank everyone who has reached out with kindness and support. My focus is on my relationship with the Lord Jesus and my family. This is not conclusion [sic] of my journey. 1 Peter 4:17-18.”

According to The Columbus Dispatch, Snyder said the John School helped him realize the impact of his decisions.

“I learned about why I made the decision I did, because I had too much pride,” Snyder said. “I learned about the impact these decisions have on not just my family but the community. It was a very impactful course.”

When Snyder won gold in 2016, he was the youngest American to win a wrestling gold Olympic medal at only 20 years old.

In addition to winning gold in 2016, Snyder went on to win silver at the 2020 Tokyo Games, which were pushed back to 2021 due to COVID, and in 2024, he placed fourth at the Paris Olympics. That same year, he was also inducted into Ohio State’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

After Snyder’s first two Olympics, President Trump appointed the wrestler to his Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition in 2018.

Just one day before his arrest, the Real American Freestyle wrestling league, which has retired wrestler and Trump loyalist Hulk Hogan as its commissioner, announced that it would be signing Snyder, along with Olympic wrestling medalists Kyle Dake and Aaron Brooks.

But following his arrest, the U.S. Center for SafeSport temporarily suspended Snyder on Wednesday.

This could affect his participation in the Final X wrestling matchup in June, which determines who will represent TEAM USA at the UWW Senior World Championships in September.

Snyder is married to Syracuse soccer player Maddie Pack and currently resides in Pennsylvania.

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