Kobayashi Freed After Night in Brooklyn Jail

Hot dog-eating champ says he jumped onstage 'in heat of it'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 5, 2010 12:14 PM CDT

Japanese eating champion Takeru Kobayashi has been freed after a night in a New York jail over a hot dog scuffle. Kobayashi wore a black T-shirt bearing the message "Free Kobi" as he pleaded not guilty in Brooklyn today to charges of obstruction of governmental administration, resisting arrest, trespassing, and disorderly conduct.

He had jumped onstage after yesterday's annual Fourth of July hot dog eating contest at Coney Island that he sat out because of a contract dispute. Kobayashi said today that he'd gone there as a spectator, but fans began chanting for him. He says he went onstage "in the heat of it," hoping officials would let him participate. Joey "Jaws" Chestnut won the contest. He downed 54 hot dogs in 10 minutes. (More Takeru Kobayashi stories.)

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