Takedown Report

Where’s the right place to draw the line on post-match decorum?

TDR Editor’s Notes ; Spontaneous jubilation and emotions after a match is understandable and reasonable yet planned and practiced gestures especially that show disrespect to an opponent are crass acts of disrespect to a wrestler’s own, team, his coach and himself. As I learned from my high school coaches in several sports that when one scores a touchdown or another act of success “act like you been there before”. As Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said during a gathering with reporters in State College: “This is wrestling. It’s supposed to bring out the best in people, not the worst.”
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Ohio State coach Tom Ryan looks across the college wrestling landscape and sees post-match behavior becoming a fine line on a slippery mat-covered slope. Penn State’s Cael Sanderson shakes his head at some of the things taking place at the end of bouts. And Jordan Burroughs says he’s not a fan of what he’s witnessed in recent weeks, either. College wrestling’s reach is greater than ever with its increasing attendance figures on campuses across the country, its burgeoning social media following and its omnipresent access to matches with a few mouse clicks and keyboard taps. But while more eyes are on the sport these days, some prominent wrestling figures are concerned about what viewers are seeing after the final whistle blows and the message it sends to the next generation of wrestlers. Post-match celebrations and shenanigans are generating retweets, likes and shares on social media. Some are also sparking team-point deductions and fueling discussions about what’s good for wrestling.

“I think people blur the line, like, ‘Oh, wrestling needs more entertainment, we need more character, we need more attractions, we need to transcend our small, niche fan base and get out to the premier market, but we don’t just have the product so we have to have the antics,’” said Burroughs, a five-time World and Olympic champion. “And I don’t agree with that. And anytime someone does something that humiliates an opponent, whether it’s blowing a kiss or holding a thumbs up or doing a throat slash, pushing a guy down, stuffing their head out of bounds, making a gesture at another coach, I don’t agree with it. It may be funny, it may be entertaining, but I don’t think there’s a place for it in this sport.” Burroughs said he’s all for celebrations and feels wrestlers “should be able to celebrate their excitement and their journey and their hard work” as long as the jubilation doesn’t get thrown in the opposition’s face. “What is entertaining,” he said, “isn’t necessary.” Rest of the story at https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1550182720305&twSessionId=ajaiqxmhrp&postId=1277793132&mc_cid=a2a4187d4b&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

April 1, 2019 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized