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Olympic wrestling champion Kyle Snyder has made his first public statement since his arrest in an Ohio prostitution sting last week.
In a post on X on Wednesday, the 29-year-old said he would lean on his faith and family, but did not directly address his arrest. “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 of my journey. 1 Peter 4:17-18,” he wrote.
The bible passage he referenced reads: “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?”
Snyder’s arrest came after during a police operation aimed at reducing prostitution in Columbus, Ohio. Snyder was arrested in a hotel room for engaging in prostitution. He was released from custody at the scene, and is due to appear in court on 19 May.
Columbus police spokesperson Caitlyn McIntosh said officers had posted online ads to “solicit others to engage in sexual activity for hire”. Police said a man later identified as Snyder had replied to one of the postings and arranged to meet at a local hotel. Once there he paid money to an undercover officer and requested sexual services. Police said 15 other men were caught in the sting.
Snyder is considered one of the best wrestlers of his generation, and was a college star at Ohio State, located in Columbus. While still at college he won an Olympic gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics. In college, he won three straight NCAA heavyweight titles between 2016 and 2018, and was later inducted into Ohio State’s athletics hall of fame. He also won an Olympic silver at the Tokyo Games in 2021 along with three world championship titles.
In 2018, Donald Trump appointed Snyder to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition. This month Snyder signed up to Hulk Hogan’s Real American Freestyle wrestling league, which is due to start in August.
Snyder has spoken of the importance of his faith in the past. “[God has] given me his spirit who lives inside me so I can live this way. Any accolades I acquire in this life are meaningless, but the growth I experience spiritually is what means the most,” Snyder told Sports Spectrum Magazine in 2019.
