Feel-Good Wrestling Moment For Brick Schools Marred By Bad Decision, Superintendent Says

BRICK, NJ — Brick Township High School wrestlers who refused to participate in an exhibition bout with a Brick Memorial wrestler who has Down syndrome should not have been permitted to refuse, Brick's superintendent said Sunday.

"We should have put a wrestler on the mat and wrestled," Brick Township Interim Superintendent of Schools Thomas Gialanella said in a phone interview Sunday. "This shouldn't happen to anyone."

The incident happened Wednesday night, when the Brick Township High School and Brick Memorial High School wrestling teams faced each other in a regularly scheduled Shore Conference Class A South dual meet.

According to a report by the Asbury Park Press, its reporters were on site with a video photographer, working on a piece about David Richards, who has Down syndrome and wrestles for the Mustangs. Richards is a junior varsity wrestler with the Mustangs, but the plan was to have him wrestle at the end of the varsity match. When it came time to wrestle, however, none of the Dragon wrestlers would take the mat against Richards.

Dan Richards, David's father, posted publicly about the incident on Facebook, expressing frustration and disappointment with the Dragons' refusal to wrestle. The post was sparking outrage on social media Saturday.

"What was supposed to be a great night of wrestling, featuring a crosstown rivalry, a great community event, and event to showcase how the Mustangs as well as the Brick school system as a whole have embraced a special needs wrestler, turned into a heartbreaking event," he wrote.

"I’m extremely disappointed in how the Brick Dragon coaching staff allowed its wrestlers to accept and treat people with special needs as if they are second class citizens," Dan Richards wrote. "Inclusion is not a favor, people with special needs have the same rights as others. It is their right to participate. Discrimination against those with special needs and differing abilities is reprehensible. Leadership and acceptance starts at the top."

Gialanella said he was informed of the incident on Friday by district staff, and was extremely dismayed by what happened.

"They (the Brick wrestling team) knew there was going to be a video taken ahead of time," Gialanella said. "For some reason the students said no, and the coach allowed that to happen. No matter what the reason is, it's not a good reason."

Gialanella also said he spoke with Dan Richards on Friday about the incident. "I told him I wish there was something we could do to make it right," he said, "but there simply is not."

The district and the town have spent the last year trying to tamp down the rivalry between the schools, to remove the bitterness that had led to problems at the annual football game between the schools two years ago. The #BrickUnited campaign was pushed by both administration and students, to remind everyone that a little healthy competition is OK but that in the end, everyone is from the same town.

Gialanella, who said he would be meeting with Brick coach Matt Opacity this week, said that is one of the aspects of the situation that frustrates him most.

"This shouldn't happen to anyone," Gialanella said, "but it's our sister school."

David Richards got his moment to shine on Saturday, wrestling and pinning Middletown North freshman Richie Wall in an exhibition match that, according to several reports, brought thunderous applause.

"Instead of being part of what is a great story, we have the great story for the Brick Memorial wrestling team and a black mark against Brick, all because we did not do the right thing."

Patch file photo