Anything to win

NCAA's new wrestling mandates help protect competitive wrestlers

Is winning worth it? Is winning worth starving and dehydrating yourself just to lose a few pounds? Is winning worth being a wrestler?

Jeffrey Reese, a Michigan wrestler, died on Dec. 9 when he collapsed on his way to the scale after shedding 17 pounds in three days in an attempt to compete in the 150-pound weight class.

Police reports state that Reese was wearing a plastic suit as he rode a stationary bike in a 92 degree room.

In November, two other collegiate wrestlers died trying to make weight. Jack Saylor, from Campbell University in North Carolina, and Joseph LaRosa from Wisconsin-La Crosse both tragically died for the sport.

"It should not have taken the death of three wrestlers to wake up the NCAA."

How can someone be demanded to put his health in danger simply to appease a coach or to wrestle in a desired weight class? The answer is he can't.

These horrible deaths must be seen as a warning -- a warning to wrestlers and to coaches. And they should be seen as a warning to athletes in other sports such as gymnastics, cheerleading, swimming and ice-skating, which also view maintaining a low weight as important. But, most of this is a warning to the NCAA.

Following the deaths of three wrestlers, the NCAA instituted guidelines to be followed by all wrestling squads. The mandate prohibits weight-loss aids such as saunas, rubber suits and diuretics. Weigh-ins are to be held no more than two hours before a match and wrestlers may not move to a weight class in which they did not previously compete in on or before Jan. 7 of this season. All weight classes will have a 7-pound weight allowance.

All we can say is, "It's about time." It is common knowledge that wrestlers risk their health to make weight. It should not have taken the death of three wrestlers to wake up the NCAA.

But, now we can only look into the future. In print these new guidelines look great, but in reality are they enough? It is too soon to tell what effect such rules will have.

However, it is not too soon to know these new regulations must be enforced. Prior to the new regulations, hot rooms above 79 degrees were banned, yet Reese left a 92 degree hot room just before he died.

Although the new regulations have been instituted, someone must be responsible for making sure these regulations are strictly followed. Coaches need to carefully monitor wrestlers' weight loss.

Fans should stop putting such extreme pressure on athletes to do whatever it takes to win. And, most of all, athletes must take responsibility for themselves and always put their health first.

It is not only winning that is at stake.