Oh, boy—why all the debate about Iowa girl wrestler

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Cedar Falls' Cassy Herkelman, top, wrestles with Indianola's Matt Victor in the Iowa state tournament on Friday. Herkelman lost 5-1 on points to Victor. | AP

Chivalry, it seems, is not dead. But sometimes it comes at a cost.

At least on the wrestling mat.

Yesterday, Joel Northrup made national news by declining to wrestle a girl in the Iowa state tournament. The sophomore instead released a three-sentence statement on why he would not grapple.

His faith, he said, would not allow him to participate in violent combat with a girl.

And so, Cassy Herkelman -- one of two girls to qualify for the state tournament since its inception on 1920 -- won by default.

Northrup’s decision has, predictably, become a water-cooler topic.

Perhaps more predictably, there have been a few who have rushed to criticize him for his choice.

But those who do so are forgetting the most important part of all this: It was HIS choice.

Northrup didn’t ask to be put in this position. He was forced into it as a result of letting girls wrestle with the boys. All he did is react in what he felt was the most appropriate manner.

Intergender wrestling is a debate for another day, and one that a lot of people hearing this sensational story never considered before.

The real issue here is why this kid is facing any blowback for his choice.

His actions caused no harm to anyone except himself. Any perceived slight to Herkelman or female wrestlers pales in severity to the blow he dealt his title chances.

Sure, he can claw his way through the consolation bracket to a third-place finish, but how often do you see anyone flashing a “I’m No. 3” sign?

A cynic could say using faith as a reason is a cop-out. It’s easy to wonder, too, which part of his faith addresses grappling with a girl. But in this age of win-at-any-cost, why is a seemingly genuine teenager being knocked down for sticking to his principles?

Sean Keeler of the Des Moines Register deftly quotes pastor E.H. Chapin in his column today.

“No man knows the genuineness of his convictions until he has sacrificed something for them,” Chapin said.

Isn’t Northrup’s sacrifice alone evidence of his convictions?

Wrestling at that level takes a tremendous amount of work, discipline and dedication. I can’t think for one second his decision to abstain from competing came easy.

But he made it and we should respect it.

Perhaps in the end, the water-cooler talk surrounding this so-called controversy should center on how it’s not a controversy at all.

Not everything needs to be a polarizing debate with impassioned factions nipping at each other’s throats.

Herkelman lost today, 5-1. Any ill will certainly isn’t coming from her family.

“I have to applaud the Northrup family for sticking with their convictions on the biggest stage in Iowa, if not the nation,” her father, a former high school wrestler, said.

If high schoolers can handle themselves with such maturity and grace, can’t those who have no personal stake in this story do the same?

Certainly seems like it.