The mom, who is also a nurse, had seen the move employed against her son twice this season and became nervous that it could possibly cause paralysis or even death in extreme circumstances. The reaction from the wrestling community was mixed: some mocking, some pointing to current rules, and others agreeing on harsher penalties.
Much like hands to the face the elbow shiver to the nape of the neck is not so much a move as a tactic to open up an opponent for the attacking wrestler's offense. There can also be a punishment aspect to the move, which is best seen in the second clip from the new report on the issue.
There is no place for excessive brutality in the sport of wrestling. The simple act of being picked up and put down on the mat against your will is brutal enough. Control of aggressive, striking-like behavior in favor of control is the main separation between wrestling and other combat sports. The degree with which you allow brutality is what separates wrestling from jiu-jitsu from sambo from Pankration from amateur MMA from professional MMA.
Ah, but in discussing MMA we actually come back to the point made by the mother. Not only should this move be penalized, it should result in the immediate disqualification of the offending athlete. This move is not something that can be confused with a technique. This is a strike to the back of the neck, which is ILLEGAL in MMA and results in the immediate end of the fight via disqualification.
Jon Jones, arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all-time, has a loss on his record for throwing TWO 12 to 6 elbows in a fight. What are we as a sport if we aren't implementing these types of punishments in a sport whose entire premise is that no striking is allowed, yet we tolerate these outrageous strikes on the neck of a child?
The NCAA, NWCA and the NFHS all need to make this an immediate rule change. There is no excuse for not making the change now that it's been so publicly discussed. Decision makers and leaders need to use their positions to ensure that this anti-wrestling behavior is properly disincentivized.
We need to grow. We need to do that through understanding why we have certain rules. No matter how tough any former wrestlers thinks he is, or was, because they ran stairs and spit into a plastic cup should not influence or create a culture of wrestling that relies on brutality more than technique.
Changes need to be made to the sport and disqualifying athletes who use their elbow to strike a helpless opponent in the base of their skull is a pretty easy starting point.
To your questions …
Coleman Scott coaching against Stanford (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Q: What do you make of the job Coleman Scott is doing at UNC? The Tar Heels recently defeated Virginia Tech and seem to be trending in the right direction. On a relate note, pretty impressive for Kennedy Monday to win by technical fall over David McFadden!
-- Mike C.
Foley: Coleman Scott did NOT inherit a topflight wrestling program at UNC. The team was a bit in disarray and there was some expectation that growing the program would take a considerable amount of time and resources. I'm not sure about the resource dump, but the turnaround time certainly feels quick!
To get UNC's results in his fifth season indicates to me that his culture, recruits, and administrative decisions are among the best in wrestling. UNC is also not in an easy conference. In fact, it's arguably the best conference in terms of percentage of teams in the top 10 nationally (4: Virginia Tech, NC State, Pitt, and UNC) and another, U.Va. in the top 25.
I've always gotten the sense that Coach Scott has a firm understanding of what it takes to win on the mat and runs a drama-free program. Maybe he inherited his coaching style from John Smith -- you'd have to assume that's partly the case, but there's always much more to the equation when you talk about the success of a program. From alumni to assistant coaches and the network of committed community members the leadership has to maintain a number of vital relationships. Coach Scott and his staff seem to be excelling on all fronts.
Kudos to Coach Scott and the Tar Hell community. Hell of a job.
Q: What odds do you have on Penn State beat Iowa in Iowa City?
-- Brian N.
Foley: Odds? +220
125: No. 1 Spencer Lee (Iowa) pins Brandon Meredith (Penn State)
133: No. 2 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) dec. No. 3 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State)
141: No. 2 Nick Lee (Penn State) dec. Carter Happel (Iowa)
149: No. 3 Pat Lugo (Iowa) maj. dec. Jarod Verkleeren (Penn State)
157: No. 5 Kaleb Young (Iowa) maj. dec. Brady Berge/Bo Pipher (Penn State)
165: No. 2 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) dec. No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State)
174: No. 1 Mark Hall (Penn State) dec. No. 2 Michael Kemerer (Iowa)
184: No. 9 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) dec. No. 6 Abe Assad (Iowa)
197: No. 7 Jacob Warner (Iowa) dec. No. 18 Shakur Rasheed (Penn State)
285: No. 3 Anthony Cassioppi (Iowa) dec. No. 15 Seth Nevills (Penn State)
Score: Iowa 26, Penn State 9
Check out Coach Brands' response to this week's hype! THE MECCA …
Who's ready for some wrestling in Iowa City, Iowa, on Friday? pic.twitter.com/7S6KcPaIwS
�" Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling) January 28, 2020
Q: Seth Gross, Mark Hall and Gable Steveson are all ranked No. 1 and attended the same high school, Apple Valley (Minnesota). Have there ever been three or more wrestlers from the same high school who won NCAA titles in the same year. Interestingly, all three wrestle for different colleges too.
-- Mike C.
Foley: Yes, they all went to the same school. No, they are not all from the same school district. In a setting where "recruiting" athletes was not allowable, Apple Valley nonetheless has dozens of wrestlers from out of district make their way into their program. Apple Valley was more comparable to Blair than to any public school.
If you compare the program to Blair then this current moment of three top-ranked wrestlers might never have been done before. There are other journalists (Josh Lowe) who could better pinpoint the high school program of former national champions (and where they should have gone to school), which I think is the only really useful stat line to consider if trying to build an "ever-before" metric.
Again, it's certainly impressive, but let's wait to see how the NCAA shakes out before crowning this achievement.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now