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DO THE
RIGHT THING, GET SUSPENDED -- IT HAPPENED TO WRESTLING COACH STEVE
NELSON
Submitted by: E.Goldman/Boxing & Wrestling Editor
Posted On 01/24/2005
Going to
school and competing in sports like wrestling are all supposed to
enhance the sense of fair play and honor of their participants.
Athletics itself is included in a school's program not simply for
the athletes to win, but, more importantly, for them to learn
valuable life lessons from these competitions.
So here is what has recently happened to a well-known wrestling
coach: He took his team to a tournament. They competed, tried their
best, and abided by the rules of the tournament. And when they
returned home, because they had competed, tried their best, and
abided by the rules of the tournament, their coach was suspended for
a week.
No, the above scenario did not happen under Saddam Hussein or in
some police state somewhere. It did occur to Steve Nelson, the head
coach of the Palo Duro High School Dons boys' wrestling team and the
Lady Dons girls' wrestling team of Amarillo, Texas.
Nelson is quite an experienced coach. In his 18th season at Palo
Duro, he led his girls' teams to Texas state titles in 2001 and
2003, winning a national title in 2001. He competed for Oklahoma
State in his college days, and later won national championships and
two world silver medals in sombo wrestling, as well as a world title
in the shootfighting league he set up, the now-defunct and
sorely-missed USWF (Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation). Nelson also
competed in mixed martial arts in Canada and in Japan. So he knows a
thing or two about competition in the combat sports, and about
standing up for what he believes in.
On Dec. 10, Nelson took some of his young wrestlers to compete at
the Santa Fe Invitational Tournament in Santa Fe, New Mexico. All
reports agree that he and his wrestlers did everything expected of
them at this tournament. During the tournament, one of Nelson's
wrestlers, a young man in the 119-pound weight class, was paired off
in a consolation match with a young woman from Espanola, NM.
Nelson's charge wrestled, pinned this opponent, and won, all fair
and square. And it was this match that landed Nelson in hot water.
In the state of Texas, there is a rule on the books of the
University Interscholastic League (UIL), by which the Amarillo
school district must abide, prohibiting athletic contests between
boys and girls in certain sports. Wrestling is one of those sports.
To provide equal opportunity for the girls, teams are set up in
those sports just for them. Texas and Hawaii have such rules
prohibiting boys and girls wrestling each other, and are also the
only two states which have girls' state wrestling championships.
However, in New Mexico, as in 48 states, there are not yet separate
girls' state wrestling championships, and often girls who want to
wrestle can only do so by competing against boys. This, in fact, is
the way many of America's world-class women wrestlers got their
start, by wrestling boys. These include four-time world champion in
women's wrestling Tricia Saunders, two-time world champion Kristie
Marano, and two-time world silver medalist and 2004 Olympic bronze
medalist Patricia Miranda, who also started at 125 pounds in her
senior year for the men's Div. I wrestling team at Stanford, to name
but a few. Simply put, if they did not have the opportunity to
wrestle boys, these women would not have had the opportunity to
wrestle at all. And that situation continues to exist in most of the
U.S.
So Nelson was in a spot. He could abide by this state of Texas rule
in the state of New Mexico, which would have deprived his wrestler
of a chance to compete, possibly cost his team valuable points by
forfeiting a winnable match, and also deprived the young woman from
New Mexico of her right to compete, win, lose, or draw. Instead, he
sent his wrestler out on the mat with his blessing, and to compete
honestly, again be it to win, lose, or draw.
When word that Nelson had abided by the rules of this tournament in
New Mexico, and also the obligation which states have to provide
equal athletic facilities for women, reached home, a district
executive committee from three schools in the Amarillo Independent
School District (AISD) -- Amarillo High, Tascosa, and Caprock -- met
to consider the situation. They ruled that even though Nelson was
abiding by the New Mexico tournament's rules, he had violated Texas'
University Interscholastic League rule prohibiting boys from
wrestling girls. They did not even take into account what might have
happened if Nelson had his boy forfeit to the girl, such as
sanctions against his team at the tournament, and even the
possibility of being accused of discrimination against girls by such
an action. No, a rule is a rule, they ruled, and he was thus given
what is known as a 'private reprimand' as well as a one-week
suspension from his coaching duties. He was not suspended from his
teaching duties or docked any pay.
'With respect to the AISD school district, my suspension had nothing
to do with me making a bad decision concerning what's best for my
kids,' Nelson said in response. 'When people break rules there are
consequences and they must be accepted,' he noted.
But, he went on, 'The rule that a Texas high school boy may not
wrestle a high school girl anywhere in the U.S. is a bad rule. In 48
states outside of Texas and Hawaii girls have to wrestle the boys'
division. This UIL rule should not extend over Texas state lines. In
different states, no matter what the sport is, you abide by that
state's rules and that should apply to wrestling also. When other
states wrestle in Texas they must abide by Texas UIL rules without
any exception. When a New Mexico girl comes to Texas, she doesn't
get to wrestle boys just because they allow it in New Mexico.'
For Nelson, ignoring the UIL rule meant adhering to more important
rules.
'I did not follow the rule because I believe it is a direct
violation of my wrestler's rights to compete and a full and total
example of discrimination against the New Mexico girl to refuse to
wrestle her,' he explained.
'I will always do what's right for my kids regardless of the
consequences I may have to suffer myself,' he continued. 'There may
be coaches out there that are willing to force their wrestlers to
lose but I am not one of those coaches. I don't consider my
wrestlers Amarillo's kids, I don't consider my wrestlers PD's kids,
I consider my wrestlers my kids and I could never nor will ever tell
my own kids they have to lose.'
He added, 'I am not a rule breaker and I would never do anything to
embarrass Palo Duro or my district but my ethical responsibility is
to serve my kids first so I stand strong by my decision.'
And he concluded, 'I have already begun the official process of
trying to get the rule changed to only apply in Texas and other
states that have a girls' division. I will never tell my kids they
have to lose even if it forces me to never take my wrestlers outside
the state of Texas again.'
The states, of course, which allow boys and girls to wrestle each
other have not been destroyed by lightning bolts from the heavens.
The wrestlers involved have not been confined to insane asylums or
maximum security prisons. In fact, as we alluded to above, quite a
few elite wrestlers have emerged from this set-up.
Whatever the ideal situation may be, it is impossible to make the
case that suspending someone like Steve Nelson for what he did will
teach the kids anything about justice -- except that government and
education bureaucrats often put their own interests ahead of the
kids. And how suspending Nelson and the insistence that the Texas
rule must be applied in New Mexico helps the kids involved, which
should be the main objective, has, of course, never been explained
by these bureaucrats.
High school is an often traumatic time for its impressionable
students. It is a time of life whose stamp is often carried for an
entire lifetime. The students and wrestlers of Palo Duro High School
in Amarillo, Texas, have just gone through an ordeal, which received
local and national media attention, which they will remember in the
years to come when they recall what are supposed to be nostalgic
times.
But you can bet one of Amarillo's famous five-pound steaks that when
most of them recount this incident in the future, that they will
preface their remarks by saying something like, 'You may not believe
this story, but ....'
Here are the full statements issued by Steve Nelson:
The rule I violated was (No high school boy shall wrestle a high
school girl and vice versa).
Mark Cousins of the UIL, his interpretation of this rule is that it
is to be abided by even over state lines, not just in Texas. Our
Texas boys will forfeit to girls in all the other states.
1. With respect to the AISD school district, my suspension had
nothing to do with me making a bad decision concerning what's best
for my kids. It was nothing to do with the rule being a good rule or
bad rule; they gave me a week suspension strictly because I broke a
UIL rule. When people break rules there are consequences and they
must be accepted. The district took appropriate action in this
matter. The district can give suspension all the way to termination.
So in retrospect, the week suspension was a light reprimand
considering what the other end of the scale could have been. It was
the most miserable experience I have had in my career not being with
my teams when they are competing. The only thing that put my mind at
ease knew my teams were in good hands with my assistant coaches Jeff
Hutton and Caleb Holt. They have been with me two years now and
fully understood what needed to be done. They are great coaches and
did an outstanding job for the girls and boys without me. I am lucky
to have both of them.
2. The rule that a Texas high school boy may not wrestle a high
school girl anywhere in the U.S. is a bad rule. In 48 states outside
of Texas and Hawaii girls have to wrestle the boys division. This
UIL rule should not extend over Texas state lines. In different
states, no matter what the sport is, you abide by that state's rules
and that should apply to wrestling also. When other states wrestle
in Texas they must abide by Texas UIL rules without any exception.
When a New Mexico girl comes to Texas, she doesn't get to wrestle
boys just because they allow it in New Mexico.
3. I did not follow the rule because I believe it is a direct
violation of my wrestler's rights to compete and a full and total
example of discrimination against the New Mexico girl to refuse to
wrestle her. I will always do what's right for my kids regardless of
the consequences I may have to suffer myself. There may be coaches
out there that are willing to force their wrestlers to lose but I am
not one of those coaches. I don't consider my wrestlers Amarillo's
kids, I don't consider my wrestlers PD's kids, I consider my
wrestlers my kids and I could never nor will ever tell my own kids
they have to lose.
Forcing boy wrestlers to forfeit to girls in other states does not
affect just his placement and self respect; the forfeit affects the
team also. If a team was to lose 1st place by one point it would be
due to the mandatory forfeit. This would be to say the individual
wrestler loses, the team loses the championship and the coach loses.
This rule affects everyone associated with Texas teams when leaving
the state.
4. Another issue is the UIL does allow our wrestlers to enter the
national championships as one of our tournaments with school funds.
The national championships will allow girls in the boys' division if
they were to qualify. The way this rule is interpreted now is that
any Texas boy would have to forfeit and automatically lose the
national tournament if he were to draw a girl.
This AISD school district raised me as a student and then after
hiring me has allowed me to excel as a teacher, coach, and even as a
professional athlete. I am not a rule breaker and I would never do
anything to embarrass Palo Duro or my district but my ethical
responsibility is to serve my kids first so I stand strong by my
decision.
I have already begun the official process of trying to get the rule
changed to only apply in Texas and other states that have a girls'
division. I will never tell my kids they have to lose even if it
forces me to never take my wrestlers outside the state of Texas
again.
Administrators
This letter is to address the UIL rule that states (No high school
boy shall wrestle against a high school girl and vice versa). In
Texas this rule is reasonable and understandable due to the fact
Texas has a sanctioned UIL girls' wrestling division separate from
the boys. Hawaii also has this separation. The issue at hand is that
48 other states do not have this separation. In 48 states a girl
that wants to be a wrestler must be on a boy's team and compete
against boys from other teams. This is to say if our Texas boy
wrestlers go to any of these 48 states there is a possibility of
drawing a girl to compete against. Mark Cousins of the UIL has
interpreted this rule as saying, our Texas boy wrestlers must
forfeit to a girl even out of the state of Texas. I am asking this
rule be discussed very seriously and be reinterpreted to read (Texas
boy wrestlers will not wrestle girls in the state of Texas). In my
opinion plus every coach (even non-wrestling coaches), wrestling
officials, parents, and wrestling enthusiast that I have discussed
this with, believe this is a violation of boy wrestlers' rights to
go to a tournament and be forced to lose without even competing.
This rule also discriminates against the girl wrestler who steps out
to compete and is not given the opportunity because Texas boys must
refuse to wrestle her even though the rules of 48 states allow that
girl to wrestle boys.
There is not one rule in the National Federation Rule Book
guidelines that does not allow girls to wrestle boys. Another issue
is the UIL does allow our wrestlers to enter the national
championships as one of our eight tournaments with school funds. The
national championships allow girls in the boys division. The way
this rule is interpreted now is that any Texas boy would have to
automatically lose the national tournament if he were to draw a
girl. I believe if all the terrible consequences for our boys from
losing minor tournaments to getting scholarships from winning big
out of state tournaments were looked at carefully, the current
interpretation to this rule would be changed to give our boys equal
opportunity when competing out of state. I wish for the
administrators of the UIL to seriously reconsider this
interpretation. Please make sure this letter is evaluated and given
to the proper administration.
Respectfully,
Steve Nelson
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