Class

A person wiser than me once said this about sports…. “Sports doesn’t build character, it reveals it.” Well, I hope someone said it because if they didn’t, I’m claiming it for my own… and then heading straight to the funny farm in Yankton.

This last week, I had the opportunity to experience two examples of class when it came to high school sports. What is class? Class is respect, showing grace under adversity, keeping pride under in victory and being gracious in defeat. Everything that you will NOT see in the South Dakota Blogosphere.

The first example wasn’t something I got to experience first-hand, but rather read about. It has to do with wrestling in Iowa… which is about as much of a religion as  hockey is in Minnesota and Basketball is in South Dakota. A freshman girl qualified for the State Wrestling tournament. Her first-round opponent was considered to one of the favorites to win his weight class. But he did not feel comfortable about wrestling a girl. Not about the holds or the fear of getting beat by a girl, but because he felt his principles and his faith didn’t allow for him to do this. So instead of raising a ruckus and trying to get the parings re-drawn, he defaulted the match; giving up any chance of winning a state title.

Now I don’t agree with not wrestling a woman or going against a woman in a combat-related sport. I used to spar with Angie Engel all the time when we were both taking Tae Kwon Do in Dell Rapids. And sometimes our sparring got to be a bit rough, so much so our instructor would have to separate us. So I never thought anything about it that she was a friend (still is) and nothing different than me rough-housing with my brothers. BUT, I do applaud this young man for sticking to his principles. He didn’t say “keep em barefoot and pregnant” or anything sexist like that. He congratulated her on her accomplishments and said that his beliefs didn’t allow him to compete against her. Short and simple…. class.

As for the young woman’s response. She was disappointed that he didn’t go against her, but she  and her family respected his decision. No rubbing it in, no crying foul, no nothing. Just class… from both of them.

As for the national debate, well, some of it has been less-than-classy. One in particular is ESPN.com’s Rick Reilly. Normally, I enjoy reading Rick’s articles and think he’s spot on with a lot of things. But he and I disagree with this approach and I think he even gets a little snarky about it, poking fun at this young man for sticking to his principles.

I think Rick and people on both sides of this debate could stand to take a lesson or two in class from these two wrestlers and their families.

The second example is one that I did get to experience this weekend at the State Gymnastics Meet in Watertown. Madison’s gymnasts have been a gymnastics juggernaut, winning the last sixteen Class “A” Championships, setting a national record in the process. Deuel’s team had always been on the outside looking in, despite having two of the best gymnasts in the State. But this year, it was Deuel’s time to take the spotlight as the Cardinals snapped Madison’s state championship streak to claim it’s first-ever state championship for the school.

Was Madison disappointed? Yes? Did the girls pout and act like babies when it was apparent they would not repeat? ABSOLUTELY NOT! They went out and gave it their best efforts, including an incredible effort by Shannon Winthers who unleashed her inner Kerri Strug as she competed on a broken foot.

At then end of the night, when Deuel was introduced as the champion team, Madison’s girls approached the awards stand and hugged their opponents in congratulations. Prior to that, the Deuel parents and fans gave Madison’s gymnasts a standing ovation when the Bulldogs were announced as the runners-up. To say it was awe-inspiring to see these heated rivals act with such grace, respect and class would be an understatement.

As I said at the beginning… Sports doesn’t build character, it reveals it.