Sophomore respectfully declines to wrestle girl in tournament.
Unfortunately, most coaches today in public schools would have had his head, had he forfeited for moral or religious reasons.
Going to my Grandson's wrestling tournaments, I was disappointed to see girls, and boys wrestling each other. I'm glad my Grandson was never faced with having to make this decision.
Cassy Herkelman vs. Joel Northrup: Is There a Loser Here?
By
Carl Stine
(Featured Columnist) on February 19, 2011
Joel Northrup, a home-schooled sophomore from the state of Iowa, did something on Thursday many of fail to do in out entire lives.
When Northrup bowed out of a match against his opponent, he did so with class, respect, and in the least damaging matter for all concerned.
His opponent-to-be was 14-year-old Cassy Herkelman, who became the first girl ever to win a state wrestling match after Northrup forfeited.
All over the Internet, the debate rages over whether Northrup was right, wrong, sexist, socially inept, or just flat stupid.
While some have argued that Northrup showed only disrespect and a certain selfishness in his decision to back out, Herkelman's father, Bill, seems to disagree.
In a reported text message to the Associated Press, Herkelman wrote:
"It's nice to get the first win and have her be on the way to the medal round. I sincerely respect the decision of the Northrup family especially since it was made on the biggest stage in wrestling. I have heard nothing but good things about the Northrup family and hope Joel does very well the remainder of the tourney."
Here is Northrup's statement to reporters after withdrawing from the bout:
"I have a tremendous amount of respect for Cassy and [Megan Black, the second girl who qualified] and their accomplishments. However, wrestling is a combat sport and it can get violent at times. As a matter of conscience and my faith, I do not believe that is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner. It is unfortunate that I have been placed in a situation not seen in most other high school sports in Iowa."
This young man removed himself from a situation that would violate his conscience, and did so in a matter that showed no disrespect to his opponent.
After all, one doesn't see moral fiber of this sort in the sporting universe every day.
