Middle School Wrestler with Cerebral Palsy “Wins” Match

It was a heartwarming video and story on Yahoo!. A coach carries a profoundly physically disabled youth into the wrestling wring and lays him down next to his opponent, who stands with his hand on his hip, watching. To the cheers and encouragement of the coach and the crowd, the match begins with the abled youth crouching next to his opponent, then laying down next to him, and, clearly struggling with the weight, pulls the disabled youth on top of him. The coach blows his whistle and calls the match won. The grin on the face of the disabled youth could melt the polar ice cap (especially now, since it’s been compromised by global warming).
The middle school wrestler who “let” the disabled wrestler win is being hailed as a great sportsman, and to be sure, kids that age are famous for their neediness and selfishness. They are kids, and kids are primarily concerned with their own needs, so he is to be hailed for his selfless act.

My concern is for the other kid. Is it fair to put a profoundly physically disabled child in a position to participate in a sport that they can never really achieve? I mean, the cheers and accolades are heartwarming, but they aren’t real. I think it’s cruel to lead him on in that manner. As cruel as it, the child can’t even walk or sit up, so what is he doing in the wrestling ring? Shouldn’t children be taught to be the best at whatever they are good at, rather than pretending to be good at something?

There are plenty of physically disabled athletes, and they inspire awe from me. I’ve seen athletes without legs whooshing down ski slopes that I wouldn’t dare try out. Watching the athletes compete at the Paralympics this year blew my mind – people achieving things that MOST of us never could. But wrestling when you are too weak to even sit up? I don’t think so.

The article in Yahoo! went on to say that the wrestler with CP was close to his age level intellectually. Why not help him to achieve his intellectual goals instead? Can’t his family help him with something that he can achieve on his own without being placed on a mat?

Maybe I’m just being a Scrooge, but I don’t think so. This past election has shown us that there are plenty of Americans out there that never learned how to lose gracefully; that still operate at the 3rd grade level when things don’t go their way. I don’t think we do our children any favors by being unrealistic about how life works.

http://youtu.be/J-pInwGuhJw