I agree he had every right to choose not to compete against a girl in a contact sport. He was respectful in his reasoning. I can understand wanting to pursue a sport you love, but wrestling consists of constant physical contact, grabbing and pulling. Sounds like borderline asssult to me. Why would a girl put herself in that kind of position just to prove a point

I agree with Melissa that this sport should be recoginized by gender.

I believe that this sport needs to have boys and girls separated… A male wrestler can’t be expected to go and wrestle a girl and call it a sport, as someone else said “…that is borderline assault”. I understand that a girl may want to choose to wrestle, but it just is not fair to expect guys to go into physical combat with her.It is not right to cause someone a shot at a state championship simply because it is against his religion.

I just encountered a high school wrestler at a school today who was totally unresponsive, and could barely stay awake in class because he has been fasting to make weight for a match.

If there needs to be a discussion about physical and psychological health of athletes, perhaps we need to investigate how the weight issue is extremely unhealthy for these young bodies.

I know that the sport is one of the oldest in existence, and respect the history of it, but to subject young boys to starving themselves to get into a weight class just isn’t appropriate in my eyes. When girls do this, we call it bulimia and anorexia. Why the double standard?

There is also a difference in how we view the human body in the U.S. as compared to Europeans. The puritans sort of did a number on our body image and made us much more sensitive about our physical selves. If the sport isn’t available competitively to girls in a gender separated way, then they should be allowed to give it a try. This is IF she genuinely wants to compete and feels competent to compete against the boys. But if it is only being done for show, or to make a point, I don’t feel that is in anyone’s best interest.

I’d like to know what religion this guy practices or follows, that would not allow him to wrestle a girl. I’ve never heard of such a thing. As far as the girl wanting to wrestle, that’s her decision and I respect that. “Borderline abuse”?! Really?! Is it abuse if guys are wrestling each other? Do you think wrestlers get any sexual satisfaction from wrestling a girl? A guy? It’s a sport people! Yes, physical, but if she can hold her own and compete with these guys… go for it! I’d be more concerned with Angie’s comment!

I feel boys and girls should play this sport separately. I can only speak for myself but I tried to teach my boys to open doors for girls and to be kind a gentle so I think they’d both see this as a dilemma as well. I know times have changed but this seems different to me than baseball or some of those types of sports. Sorry if I sound chauvinistic but I think if girls want to wrestle they should do it separately from boys. It’s just too much groping and it’s too close.

That should say “kind and gentle.” Sorry.

The next thing you know, a guy could get arrested for actually bumping into a woman in a crowded elevator!

Good for him to refuse to wrestle a woman! Three cheers for him with sticking to his own guns!!!

He was right. It would not have been a fair match and that kind of contact between the sexes can lead to other embarrassing situations.