What Price Justice?

While I'm getting ready for the Wednesday Night Wars...

Rarely does the moment come when sports and justice come into unison, but that is exactly what happened on Wednesday when the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association suspended a referee for forcing a wrestler to cut his dreadlocks prior to a match on December 19, 2018. The Buena Regional High School wrestler Andrew Johnson had to deal with a humiliating experience of removing part of his hair and culture or risk forfeit. The decision was made after an investigation into the referee's heinous actions that going forward rules need to be focused on the action on the mat and not on the appearance.

Simply put, there is no place for this type of treatment on behalf of the officials. Their role is to maintain order and keep the contest moving. Recently there was another incident in which a young Alaska swimmer was told that her swimsuit was not proper attire due to her body shape. I am left dumbfounded at how those we trust to call the contest evenly can have such an uneven view when it comes to policing the natural order of hair length and body development.

In both incidents we see the decrepit nature of man when power becomes corrupt. Decisions are made not on the athletic merit of the competitor, but on how they are viewed externally. We have seen throughout history how leagues have given mandates to how the players should represent their leagues in their uniformed attire. We cringed when the NBA and then-commissioner David Stern issued for his players to give up the hip-hop gear that came to define the early 2000's and wear suits on the sidelines. It was a corporate dog whistle that fortunately did not become the uproar that was anticipated. However, it has led to the players using their creativity to turn it into a fashion show.

These incidents are nothing of the sort, and it highlights a greater issue. Teenagers have enough challenges throughout their amateur years. Where to go to college, the ability to obtain scholarships, and that's before you add on the pressure to win. What should not be on the foremost of their minds is whether or not some referee or judge is going to embarrass them based on something upon which they have no control over before the competition even begins.

Today justice was served in New Jersey and last week in Alaska, and may this be the beginning of a shift in high school sports, where the young men and women do not have to experience defeat before they even step onto the playing field.

Check out our latest episode of the Final Five on NXT's first episode on the USA Network. http://tobtr.com/s/11511271