Ya know, seen a thing or two in my time, all sorts of scuffles and scraps. But this one, this one with young Cooper Corder, the wrestler fella, it’s somethin’ else.
Now, I ain’t no expert on wrestlin’ or whatever they call it. Buncha fellas in tight clothes, grabbin’ and pullin’ each other. But what happened to that Cooper boy, well, it ain’t right.
See, after the match, the other kid, Hafid Alicea I think his name is, he up and punches Cooper. Right in the face. Just like that.
I saw the video. Clear as day, the boy offers his hand, like they do, and boom! Fella gets a fist to the face. Now, where I come from, that ain’t sport. That’s just plain mean.
- Cooper, he’s just a young fella, 14 they say.
- Losin’ a match, sure, it stings. But you don’t go punchin’ someone like that.
- Cooper’s folks, they’re pressin’ charges. Good for them, I say. Teach that Alicea boy a lesson.
This happened at some fancy wrestling spot. The Wrestling Spot, they call it. In Chicago, or nearabouts. Heard it was a freestyle match, whatever that means. Sounds like they’re makin’ it up as they go.
Anyway, Cooper, he won. Beat the other fella, 14-2. A good win, see? But then, bam! Gets punched. Makes ya wonder, what’s the point?
They say Alicea’s gettin’ cited for assault. And rightly so. Can’t be goin’ around punchin’ folks, specially after you lose. That’s just bad sportsmanship, or whatever they call it.
It’s a shame, really. Young fella, Cooper, he’s probably workin’ hard, trainin’ and all. And then this happens. Makes ya lose faith in these sports things.
I tell ya, back in my day, we settled things with a good ol’ handshake. Or maybe a stern look. None of this punchin’ nonsense. It’s just not how things are done.
Heard the whole thing’s on video too. The punch, I mean. Guess there’s no hidin’ from it. Shows ya, you do somethin’ wrong, it’ll come back to bite ya. Like a dog with a bone, it will.
This Alicea boy, he’s from Maine West High School, they say. Makes the whole school look bad, if you ask me. Punchin’ people after losin’. Shameful, that’s what it is.
Cooper, he’s with some SPAR Wrestlin’ Academy. Sounds fancy, but it’s just teachin’ kids how to wrestle, I reckon. Good for ’em, learnin’ some discipline. But then this happens. Just ain’t fair.
This whole thing, it got me thinkin’. What’s the world comin’ to? Punchin’ folks after a match? It ain’t right. Makes me wanna shake my head and sigh. Just ain’t right at all.
Anyway, hope that Cooper boy’s alright. And hope that Alicea fella learns his lesson. And maybe, just maybe, they can all learn to shake hands and be done with it. Like civilized folks should.
Tags: Cooper Corder, Hafid Alicea, Wrestling, Assault, Chicago, Sportsmanship
