The Fourth of July is synonymous with many things, but one event is taking over, with the event being the Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island. Thousands gather to watch grown men and women stuff their faces with hot dogs, and ESPN even broadcasts the festivities. This year's contest proved to be unlike any other. The contest itself held to normalcy until the very end. Joey "Jaws" Chestnut dominated the field, inhaling 54 hot dogs in 10 minutes to win the coveted mustard yellow title belt, but then a figure emerged from the crowd, with it being none other than former-champ, Takeru Kobayashi. The crowd began to chant, "LET HIM EAT! LET HIM EAT!," and tried to take the stage wearing a "Free Kobi" shirt in his protest of not signing with Major League Eating. The result of not signing, however, forces him not to be able to participate.
As he jumped the stage he was arrested and then charged, according to ESPN, with, "obstruction of governmental administration, resisting arrest, trespassing and disorderly conduct." This forced him to be held overnight in a New York jail. After his release, again through ESPN, Kobayashi said, ""I went as a spectator to cheer on my buddies that I used to eat with. Everyone in the crowd kept chanting 'let him eat, let him eat.' So I jumped onto the stage to prove that I am still the champ, but I was arrested." His attorney, Mario D. Romano, told the New York Post, "He was protesting the restrictions of his contract. He jumped on the stage in response to people telling him to eat. All he wanted to do was eat quickly and publicly."
It will be very interesting to see if the charges move ahead or if they are dropped in this very curios and odd case. It sure did add some extra excitement to the day, but others, especially the event's organizer were not impressed to say the least. Richard Shea told the New York Daily News, "I feel badly for everyone who worked so hard that the story today is all about this disruption."