The National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) has issued a response to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in regards to the October 25 letter in which the ACLU sent on behalf of University of Michigan-Dearborn women's club wrestler Marina Goocher.
On the same day, the ACLU initiated a public relations campaign via social media avenues and through its own press releases. Newspapers around the country picked up the story and ran with it. Few outlets, save The Washington Post, researched the story from both sides. Many took the story and the perceived facts from the ACLU at face value. The ACLU also produced a video with Goocher, which showed footage from the 2016-17 UM-Dearborn club wrestling season.
Through the process, a number of facts pertinent to the level of college wrestling, the level of competition and the structure of the NCWA in relation to the rest of college athletics have been ignored, either intentionally or through lack of proper research.
Two days after the release of the ACLU public relations push, three women's wrestlers appeared on Episode 361 of the Short Time Wrestling Podcast. Listen to that episode here.
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Excellent response.
Why exactly would a “rasslin fan” oppose allowing more rasslers the opportunity to rassle?! Isn’t that what the goal of us is, to actually increase opportunities for individuals to compete?
Are people afraid, as was the case here in Iowa a few years back when females competed in the boy’s state tournament for the first time, that the woman…gasp…might actually BEAT some of these guys? Or, are they worried that the males won’t be able to ‘control their hands,’ as was feebly “argued” here in Iowa? OR, could it possibly be that we still don’t want women to have the same opportunities as males? Nah, THAT wouldn’t be it, now would it?
What’s the fear, big bad rasslin fans?
Ban,
If you’d read the entire document, you’d see clearly the NCWA has given women opportunities to compete. However, the athlete in question chose a school without a varsity women’s wrestling team. The men didn’t have one either, so they created a club. She is a club of one and is allowed to compete against other women because the NCWA has a women’s division. You don’t go to Iowa State if you want to play college baseball. You don’t go to UM-Dearborn if you want to wrestle in college. It’s all about choices. The NCWA gives women the opportunity to compete. It’s not their fault others in the region don’t want to field women’s club teams. Listen to the podcast episode with Salata, Shai and Morrison to hear what the women think about this.