Olympic gold medalist Shaun White usually has a good excuse for popping open the champagne. However, based on White's drunken, beaten-up appearance in a mug shot released by the Nashville Police Department, we're betting the star athlete doesn't have much reason to celebrate today.
After drunkenly destroying his Tennessee hotel room like a rockstar with something to prove, smashing a phone, and trying to flee the scene, White was arrested, and charged with public intoxication and vandalism after the incident in the early hours of the morning. Sources who were at the scene described White as extremely intoxicated. A fact that seems to be supported by White's heavily disheveled appearance in his mug shot, not to mention his fresh black eye.
At 2 a.m. Sunday Sept. 16, police were called to the Lowes Vanderbilt Hotel when a guest identified as White allegedly pulled a fire alarm and forced the evacuation of the hotel. An employee also told police White had destroyed a hotel phone.
When 26-year-old White tried to leave in a taxi, a hotel guest told the driver that police were en-route, and White overheard the conversation, allegedly kicked the guest and ran. The guest gave chase and, when White turned around, the two collided. White reportedly fell and struck his head on a fence. According to Nashville police, White appeared intoxicated and refused to sign misdemeanor citations.
"The citizen reported that he chased White until White turned and ran into him, apparently causing White to fall backwards and strike his head against a fence," the police report states. "White was transported to a local hospital for treatment."
The police report also says that "White appeared to be extremely intoxicated and smelled strongly of alcohol."
"He basically put himself in jail by not signing that," a police source told ESPN.com.
White was treated at a hospital before being arrested and booked. His booking photo shows him with the black eye. He was released by police late Monday afternoon and has an Oct. 10 court date. The guest who gave chase declined to press charges.
Reps for the snowboarder have yet to comment. As for the hotel, a Loews rep said that they are "committed to ensuring guest safety and confidentiality at all times. As this incident is a police matter, we are deferring all comments to the police," according to E News.
White, who won gold in the Turin and Vancouver Olympics, has successful video-game and clothing lines, and earned $9 million from endorsements in 2008 alone. He most recently was in the news for dating model Bar Refaeli.