Eating Champ Kobayashi Freed from Jail
NEW YORK CITY - After a night in an American jail, Japanese eating champion Takeru Kobayashi was set free on Monday. He had tried to take the stage at the end of the Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest at Coney Island after refusing to sign an agreement with Major League Eating that would bar him from participating in non-league sponsored competitions.
Although the hot dog eating event is 94 years old, fans of the contest note that it has been six-time winner Kobayashi who has really put the event on the map in recent years.
Kobayashi is also widely popular in Japan, where Nathan’s Famous and Major League Eating, a sports franchisor that sanctions competitive eating events, does not have much of a presence. None of MLE’s dozens of events listed on its website were scheduled for Japan, the world’s second largest economy. In 2003 a single Nathan’s Famous store opened in Japan, which is also the world’s second largest market of franchise owners.
The winner of this year’s competition, American Joey Chestnut, who is happy with MLE’s coverage, said before yesterday’s competition that he thought Kobayashi was just trying to negotiate for too much money as an excuse so that he wouldn't have to face the heat this year.
After Kobayashi took the stage, the crowds yelled, "Let him eat." Spurred on by the chanting, Kobayashi said he wanted to show how many dogs and buns he could eat within 10 minutes. But before he could do anything, the New York police took to the stage and arrested him. Fox Sports News reports that he was charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing.
Major League Eating issued this statement today: “Takeru Kobayashi's actions at the Hot Dog Contest in Coney Island were inappropriate and unfortunate, but it did not diminish Joey Chestnut's victory, or the holiday tradition that dates back generations. Kobayashi was a great champion and we hope that he is able to resolve his current situation and move past this."
Sources: Associated Press, Fox Sports News, MLE Press Release
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