Pat Downey at the 2019 World Championships (Photo/Tony Rotundo WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Self-anointed wrestling bad boy Pat Downey is unrepentant and firing back at the New Jersey Regional Training Center for cutting him loose. Downey was fired on Saturday after tweeting that "in general the average fan aint paying for womens wrestling" with the hashtags #SorryNotSorry" and #Feelings LieNumbersDont."
He issued an apology saying in part, "I have always and will always support wrestling as a whole including women's wrestling. THAT'S ONE OF MY MAIN GOALS. With the platform I have, it's negligent of me not to think through the effects of my words." But Downey takes nothing back.
When I first saw the tweets I was torn.
The woman and feminist in me wanted to side with the NJRTC and give them credit for a swift and severe consequence to a sentiment that is antithetical to my love and support for women's wrestling.
But the journalist and free speech advocate in me wanted to side with Downey's right to say what he did even though I don't agree. Was what he said illegal? No. Could the NJRTC simply have sent out a statement disavowing the opinion and dealt with Downey differently and internally? Yes.
Downey is out of the wrestling event at the center of the controversy in which he was to wrestle world champion David Taylor. In an ironic twist, Downey told me he dropped out because of the event's lack of support for women's wrestling.
But one of the first to respond to Downey's initial tweet was world silver medalist Sarah Hildebrandt. She tweeted how incredibly disappointed she was in her teammate, stating that, "He only hurts OUR sport." Other notable women joined the conversation to agree with Hildebrandt and to chastise Downey. Olympic champion Helen Maroulis and Wrestle Like a Girl's Sally Roberts to name a few.
For his part, Downey is very aware that his words have meaning and the trail of drama he has left behind during his wrestling career thus far is no accident. He had a notorious Twitter spat with UFC champion and former Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier. He was dismissed from Iowa State midseason for what the team called "repeated violations of team rules" with reports at the time pointing to his tweets as the culprit. Downey also did a short stint in Iowa City training at the Hawkeye Wrestling Club.
None of that should have been news to the NJRTC when Downey came on board. Downey said he does not remember signing an ethics agreement or anything limiting his social media presence or agreeing to a disclaimer that his opinions are his own and not those of the NJRTC. But, he said, there was tension over his tweets.
Pat Downey won a bronze medal at the Pan American Games (Photo/Tony Rotundo WrestlersAreWarriors.com)As Downey put it, "This (the firing) was the final straw that broke the camel's back."
It didn't have to be. And more importantly, shouldn't be. Stifling an opinion that is unpopular is counterproductive. Without the tweet, offensive, disappointing or disrespectful as it might be, we lose the conversation and through conversation comes growth. If we don't engage in civil discourse, if we don't allow for opinions we disagree with, then we are stagnant, never moving forward and doomed to failure if the goal is to grow the sport.
To be clear I'm not talking about hate speech here. Pointing out that women's wrestling is not as popular with fans as men's freestyle is not necessarily misogynistic. At this moment in time it's a fact, but one that could be changing rapidly given the explosion in participation numbers for women.
As my colleague Tim Foley astutely pointed out, the most watched moment on social media for all of the Rio Olympic Games in 2016 was Helen Maroulis beating Japan's Saori Yoshida for gold. He also gave other examples of women's matches outshining the men's matches. Although those might be anomalies now, as the women keep putting on exciting, high-paced, high-level performances the fans will take notice.
In fact, Downey told me he is a champion of women and women's wrestling. He said he runs camps and clinics for women and girls and he noted that he has a little sister.
NJRTC coach Reece Humphrey throw Pat Downey in celebration at the U.S. Open (Photo/Tony Rotundo WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Downey said he is considering a lawsuit against the NJRTC for wrongful termination. When contacted the NJRTC would only point to its tweet regarding Downey.
When asked if this whole thing would make him think twice before he tweets or change what he says and does on social media Downey said he would, "Keep being me until I die."
Future employers are warned.
And the rest of us are reminded that free speech has a role to play ... even if it's painful.
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