Brendan Johnston, an 18-year-old wrestler from Colorado, willingly gave up the chance of placing in the state tournament because the fight he was to participate in was against his fate and beliefs.
Namely, Brendan was schedule to wrestle Angel Rios at the Pepsi Center in Denver for third-place in the 106-pound weight class in the consolation bracket, but the moment he realized his opponent was a girl, he decided to forfeit.
This decision cost him a higher place than the sixth he ended up in.
A few days before this match, Brendan did the same when he was to face Jaslynn Gallegos, a senior at Skyview High in the first round of the tournament on Thursday, as per KDVR.
Speaking to the outlet, Brendan justified his decision saying, “It’s so physical, physically close. I don’t think that’s really appropriate with a young lady. It’s also very aggressive and I’m not really, I guess, comfortable with that.”
He added: “There is something that I really do find problematic about the idea of wrestling with a girl, and a part of that does come from my faith and my belief.
“And a part of that does come from how I was raised to treat women as well as maybe from different experiences and things.
“I don’t think that I am looking at them as not equal. I am saying that they are women and that is different than being men because I do believe that men and women are different and we are made differently.
“But I still believe that women are of equal value to men. I don’t think that seeing men and women as different [opposes] the idea of equality.”
Both his opponents, Rios and Gallegos, made history after becoming the first females to place at the tournament. Rios placed fourth and Gallegos placed fifth.
Speaking to The Greeley Tribune, Rios commented the match Brendan forfeited and said she understood his decision and respected it but questioned why any wrestler, of any gender, would decide to forfeit in the state tournament after making it so far.
“This whole time that I’ve wrestled, it’s just me trying to prove a point that I am just a wrestler,” she told the Washington Post at the time.
“And so the fact that my gender is something that kind of holds me back still is just a little nerve-racking, but I respect his decision. It’s fine.
“My whole thing is that I’m not a girl wrestler; I’m just a wrestler. So it kind of doesn’t hurt my feelings, but I do kind of take it to heart.”
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