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Strength in Diversity - Penn State - it's a wonderful thing!

Jimmy Cinnabon

By Jimmy Cinnabon
in College Wrestling

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Jimmy Cinnabon NCAA Champion

Jimmy Cinnabon

Posted
Posted

Not sure this has been discussed before, but in America, wrestling is still a predominantly white sport.  It doesn't take a genius to figure out that this is because the demographics of the biggest wrestling states in the country reflect this -- wrestling is a powerhouse in the Northeast and the Midwest and in states like PA, NJ, OH, IA, IL, MI, MN whites make up the majority by far, 75% or more of the population.

Hence ,it's not surprising that college wrestling ranks also reflect this.  However, I'd like to highlight one notable exception -- my favorite team, Penn State.

Penn State has 7 out of 10 spots manned by a underrepresented minority!

133 RBY

141 Bartlett

149 SVN

165 Facundo

174 Starocci

184 Brooks

HWT Kerkvliet

 

I can't think of another major D1 program that has 70% URM starters...let alone a majority.  As a PSU alum, I am very proud that Penn State has been able to be the top program all the while showcasing this diverse talent, which I believe is a strength for the program -- not because I feel there is inherent wrestling benefit in having a diverse lineup, but because in order to grow this sport we all love and adore, we need to increase the appeal among all citizens of our country.

Wrestling is already a niche sport and in order for it to grow I'd like to see the sport grow in other areas of the country aside from the Northeast and the Midwest.  In particular I'd like to see more wrestling in urban areas, areas where many URMs grow up and reside.  

So in summary, a tip of the cap to my Penn State Nittany Lions, who I know care only about putting the best wrestlers on the mat and winning Big 10 and NCAA titles...but the fact that they can have a 70% URM lineup warms my heart!

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Jason Bryant NCAA Qualifier

Jason Bryant

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Posted

Old Dominion had 8 wrestlers of color in their starting lineup when the AD dropped the sport. One of which is now at ASU. Some people can get uptight talking about diversity and always "making race a topic," but when college presidents want to beat the drum about first generation college students and their acceptance of all types, then they cut the most racially diverse team on a campus, you can best bet they don't want to hear about that. ODU's president has yet to reply to me about his predecessor allowing that to happen.

Wrestling is for everyone. All shapes, all sizes, all colors. We really do embrace that in a lot of ways. There's still some stereotypes and tropes that exist in the sport that get repeated too often, mainly out of laziness. There are still groups looking to do things no one who looks like them have ever done, or most recently, like Tamyra Mensah-Stock, became the first to do. Our differences make us unique. Our differences also bond us. No matter how good or bad we were, we are wrestlers, right? 

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Mr. PeanutButter NCAA All-American

Mr. PeanutButter

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This is your yukiest thread yet.

It's hard for me to read what the OP wrote and not boil it down to "oh wow, the wrestlers on PSU are black AND good at wrestling! Mind blown!!!"

I strongly doubt Cael and company Look at a wrestler's ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, etc when making recruiting decisions. I assume they take character into consideration but I doubt they look at skin color when making that evaluation.

The PSU team is full of really great wrestlers who, as far as I can tell, are great men in general (except for Carter). They have reached the pinnacle of the sport, doubtlessly overcoming countless set backs and challenges. That's what they should be celebrated for.

As long as they continue to work hard, wrestle hard, do their schoolwork, and avoid getting into trouble, why even factor in diversity?

Someone will inevitably take this to mean that I'm against diversity or some crackpot. To that, all I have to say is: bold of you to assume my gender or ethnicity 

 

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Elevator College Starter

Elevator

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Mr. PeanutButter said:

This is your yukiest thread yet.

It's hard for me to read what the OP wrote and not boil it down to "oh wow, the wrestlers on PSU are black AND good at wrestling! Mind blown!!!"

I strongly doubt Cael and company Look at a wrestler's ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, etc when making recruiting decisions. I assume they take character into consideration but I doubt they look at skin color when making that evaluation.

The PSU team is full of really great wrestlers who, as far as I can tell, are great men in general (except for Carter). They have reached the pinnacle of the sport, doubtlessly overcoming countless set backs and challenges. That's what they should be celebrated for.

As long as they continue to work hard, wrestle hard, do their schoolwork, and avoid getting into trouble, why even factor in diversity?

Someone will inevitably take this to mean that I'm against diversity or some crackpot. To that, all I have to say is: bold of you to assume my gender or ethnicity 

 

you self-identify as one of my favorite food staples - so I give you the benefit right off the bat 

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SocraTease NCAA All-American

SocraTease

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, Jimmy Cinnabon said:

Not sure this has been discussed before, but in America, wrestling is still a predominantly white sport.  It doesn't take a genius to figure out that this is because the demographics of the biggest wrestling states in the country reflect this -- wrestling is a powerhouse in the Northeast and the Midwest and in states like PA, NJ, OH, IA, IL, MI, MN whites make up the majority by far, 75% or more of the population.

Hence ,it's not surprising that college wrestling ranks also reflect this.  However, I'd like to highlight one notable exception -- my favorite team, Penn State.

Penn State has 7 out of 10 spots manned by a underrepresented minority!

133 RBY

141 Bartlett

149 SVN

165 Facundo

174 Starocci

184 Brooks

HWT Kerkvliet

 

I can't think of another major D1 program that has 70% URM starters...let alone a majority.  As a PSU alum, I am very proud that Penn State has been able to be the top program all the while showcasing this diverse talent, which I believe is a strength for the program -- not because I feel there is inherent wrestling benefit in having a diverse lineup, but because in order to grow this sport we all love and adore, we need to increase the appeal among all citizens of our country.

Wrestling is already a niche sport and in order for it to grow I'd like to see the sport grow in other areas of the country aside from the Northeast and the Midwest.  In particular I'd like to see more wrestling in urban areas, areas where many URMs grow up and reside.  

So in summary, a tip of the cap to my Penn State Nittany Lions, who I know care only about putting the best wrestlers on the mat and winning Big 10 and NCAA titles...but the fact that they can have a 70% URM lineup warms my heart!

What are the backgrounds (e.g., ethnicities) of Bartlett and Facundo?  Just curious

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forkemaz College Starter

forkemaz

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, wjd said:

Had injuries not taken place the Arizona State Lineup would have topped them with 8. 

125 - Figueroa

133 - McGee

141  - Vasquez

149 - Parco

157 - Teamer

174 - Valencia

184 - Montalvo

197 - Norfleet

I'm an ASU fan and I had no idea... because this is stupid and skin color has nothing to do with wrestling. I'm glad this crap has mostly stayed in other sports. We are all wrestlers. 

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Husker_Du NCAA Champion

Husker_Du

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4 hours ago, Mr. PeanutButter said:

 

The PSU team is full of really great wrestlers who, as far as I can tell, are great men in general (except for Carter). They have reached the pinnacle of the sport, doubtlessly overcoming countless set backs and challenges. That's what they should be celebrated for.

 

Carter Starocci is an incredible young man and has worked his tail off. 

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ionel Big Brain

ionel

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Posted
3 hours ago, Elevator said:

you self-identify as one of my favorite food staples - so I give you the benefit right off the bat 

Think I speak for many on these here new boards in saying we are glad Mr. PB changed his identification.

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Mr. PeanutButter NCAA All-American

Mr. PeanutButter

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Husker_Du said:

Carter Starocci is an incredible young man and has worked his tail off. 

I was trying to take a light jab at his arrogance but, 1) I'm just some faceless entity on the internet. Meanwhile, he is on track to be a college great, 2) his attitude has served him well this far, and 3) I have no reason to believe that his positive traits don't far outweigh his negative ones

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