In missing the point, Hamm may be most hurting himself

ATHENS, Greece — Paul Hamm needs a new marketing strategy. Either that, or he needs a clue. One harmless gesture separates him from lionization in America and canonization in South Korea, and yet Hamm is lost in a gymnast's cloud of chalk dust, leaving him too blinded to see the light.

He will not tell the world that Yang Tae-young deserves a duplicate gold medal, and pronto.

Doesn't Hamm understand what he's missing out on?

If he just said the word, Hamm would go down as a true apostle of the Olympic ideal. If he only declared that Yang should be an equal partner in his all-around glory, Hamm would be held up in so many different languages and cultures as the model athlete in a sad and sorry age of self-congratulation.

Even though the South Koreans didn't lodge their protest over a judging error before the shot clock expired, Hamm could say, I believe Yang deserves the full reward of his great performance. I hope the International Olympic Committee or the Court of Arbitration for Sport — someone, anyone — can make this come to be.

Sportsman of the Year, Hamm would be called. Just consider how much mileage Michael Phelps got out of his decision to hand over his medley relay spot to the defeated and downtrodden Ian Crocker.

Hamm's move would be bigger, bolder, more significant on the world stage. It wouldn't benefit a teammate, but an athlete from a foreign land. At a time when Americans are seen as power-hungry gluttons and bat-wielding bullies in too many corners of the globe, Hamm could strike a blow against ugly Americanism, and he could do that without lifting his own medal off his chest.

Instead, this is what we got from Paul Hamm last night after he finished sixth on the pommel horse and fifth on the floor:

"As far as I'm concerned, I am still the Olympic men's all-around champion. I won it. I earned it. And that's the way I'm going about it. I feel bad for the gymnast. I don't think his coaches and team leaders did right by him. They didn't follow the rules."

"I don't feel I have anything to apologize for. I understand why they would be upset, but they had clear guidelines to follow and they did not. ... They knew what they were supposed to do and they didn't do it. Is that my fault?"

"I shouldn't even be dealing with this. ... The rules can't be changed after the competition is over."

Hamm acts as if some shadow bureaucrat is lurking outside his door, waiting to swipe his medal. It isn't going to happen. Hamm's got his gold for life.

But what's the harm in letting Yang ascend to his rightful place? In cases where judging incompetence or corruption inspired the awarding of two gold medals, the original winner's place was not diminished.

So Hamm has nothing to lose here, and a few million bucks to gain. Everybody's all-American boy would be an easy sell, particularly when he's making sacrifices at the altar of global goodwill.

"I feel I was the champion," Hamm maintained. "What I did was absolutely incredible, coming back from 12 points down. I can understand that (Yang) is upset, but he should be upset with his coaches. I don't even think the judges should've been penalized."

That thinking won't get it done. Hamm did say he would return his medal if gymnastic federation officials ask for it, but again, there's no chance of that request being made.

And the time is now to stop talking about botched pass interference calls and the perils of instant replay. This gymnastics case is about fairness and common decency.

"I don't think (Paul's) gold should be tarnished," said Hamm's twin brother, Morgan.

It won't get tarnished. If anything, a gold medal for Yang would only add a layer of polish to Hamm's.

Where this ends up, nobody knows. South Korean delegation members requested and received an audience with USOC officials last night, but nothing was resolved. Hamm holds more cards than anyone. If he campaigned for Yang, this case would already be closed.

But the American champ keeps missing the point, not to mention a golden opportunity to win all over again.