Lots of chatter out there in Interwhatsis Land about the African-American wrestler who was forced by a white referee to have his dreadlocks cut off in order to compete.
By now, we all the know particulars: The kid, Andrew Johnson of Buena Regional High
School in New Jersey, had to stand there and have his dreads cut off after the ref, Alan Maloney, ruled he couldn't compete with them -- even though wrestlers in New Jersey (including girls) routinely cap their hair to wrestle in New Jersey. Nothing in the rulebook precludes it.
It's been noted that Maloney has a history of racist actions, including calling a fellow black ref the N-word. So we've got that going on.
Here's what the Blob wonders about this:
Johnson went along with this reprehensible shaming for the good of the team.
Why didn't his coaches and teammates refuse to go along, also for the good of the team?
In other words, if I'm the coach -- who did protest vehemently, to be fair -- I would not have stood there and let this happen. I would said, "Sorry, you don't get to do this," pulled my team off the floor and forfeited the match. And then immediately filed a grievance against Maloney with the state high school athletic association.
It is, after all, only a wrestling match.
The principle involved here is far bigger than that. Or so it seems to me.
No comments:
Post a Comment