What did a former Penn State football star say about his arrest? It involves his son, drugs and local athletes

Former Penn State football star Harry Hamilton, who is facing burglary and assault charges in State College, revealed his side of what happened in an interview with the Times-Leader.

He was arrested, because he punched his son several times and knocked another person to the ground, according to State College police.

Hamilton defended himself and accused State College police of trying create a big story due to his fame while ignoring a local drug dealer who he alleges supplies marijuana to a local track team.

“They want the headlines,” Hamilton said. “They want the professional football player. You have a man with an impeccable background. If I went into a burning building to save somebody from a fire, would the thinking be different? Somehow, now I try to save somebody from the gateway drug of marijuana, I have been charged criminally. They should be thanking me for exposing a major drug operation.”

The former football player, a two-time academic All-American and 8-year professional in the NFL, told the Times-Leader that he entered an unlocked State College residence, smelled marijuana and confronted his son. He said someone hit him from behind, sparking a physical altercation.

“When I turned to identify the assailant, I believed I was looking into the face of a 6-foot-6 drug dealer who, it looked like, had something in his pants, had his hand in his pants,” Hamilton told the Times-Leader. “I grabbed him instantly — there was no way he was getting out of my grasp — and threw him outside.”

A criminal complaint detailed the incident and said Hamilton put his son in a headlock, banged his head off a set of stairs and punched him several times.

Hamilton said that when he "punched" his son that it was a football move, one in which a player would push an opponent with an open palm to the torso. He also said his son did not suffer any injuries.

Hamilton, an attorney who the Times-Leader reported will defend himself, said the other person involved in the incident is a drug dealer "who has access to the track team."

This story was originally published April 2, 2018 at 1:35 PM with the headline "What did a former Penn State football star say about his arrest? It involves his son, drugs and local athletes."