For the first time in history a female wrestler, 2 in fact, have qualified for the Iowa state wrestling tournament. The drama doesn’t end there however, since one of the best bets to win or at least come out at the top in this tournament forfeited his first match. This would hardly be noteworthy except that he did so, due to his religious beliefs, to one of the girls, freshman Cassy Herkelman. His refusal to wrestle her means that there is no way he can score above third place but he still holds true to his values and belief that it is inappropriate and wrong for him to fight against her in light of his religious and moral beliefs.
This comes not out of fear of losing or being ridiculed for having to wrestle a girl and looking bad, but from the familial and spiritual beliefs of the forfeiter, Joel Northrop, and his family. Joel is a sophomore, homeschooled student whose father is a minister at the Believers in Grace Fellowship church and preaches about respect and elevation of women. He feels that men and women shouldn’t touch in a “familiar” way and that it isn’t right for men and women to wrestle since it is a full contact and violent sport.
The general consensus at the tournament and among the family of the girl that went ahead through forfeit, Cassy Herkelman, is one of respect and understanding. All involved say that Joel has strong religious values and they feel that he is in no way being derogatory or demeaning. And also that this match was resolved in what, for him, was the only possible way that it could be.
But this begs the question, what is the right thing to do here? What exactly is the correct action to take and what does this mean? Is this advancing women or encouraging them not to continue to compete? This raises a lot of questions that people have to answer to themselves. There is no right or wrong answer in this scenario, only what is right or wrong for those involved and I for one applaud Joel. His religious conviction and dedication to the teachings of his father is admirable and I am surprised that a 15 or 16 year old boy would concede such as important match as gracefully as he has.
But this begs the question, what is the right thing to do here? What exactly is the correct action to take and what does this mean? Is this advancing women or encouraging them not to continue to compete? This raises a lot of questions that people have to answer to themselves. There is no right or wrong answer in this scenario, only what is right or wrong for those involved and I for one applaud Joel. His religious conviction and dedication to the teachings of his father is admirable and I am surprised that a 15 or 16 year old boy would concede such as important match as gracefully as he has.
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