By Mike Chapman, W.I.N. Founder

All that it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing, said a wise man some time ago.

            Well, let me say an “evil” has been perpetrated on the sport of wrestling, by the nation’s largest newspaper; not the sort of evil that costs lives or that will ruin a nation’s economic base, of course, but an evil nonetheless.

            It is the type of evil that can eat at the fabric of the sport of wrestling and, eventually, cause damage to anyone who cares about Mankind’s Oldest Sport.

            It is now beyond debate that USA Today (1) sees no value in wrestling as a readership vehicle and (2) cares nothing at all about the several million wrestling participants, coaches and fans in this country.

            The proof has been there for several years. It reached its zenith on Monday, March 24. Go back and pick up that day’s sports section and you will see exactly what I mean when you begin the search for an article and photo about the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships that were held in St. Louis.

            The newspaper gave wrestling’s showcase event just over two inches! To add insult to insult, the information was buried in a column called “Notes”, under a story about which school was seeded No. 1 in the upcoming men’s hockey tournament.

            Meanwhile in that same Monday edition, men’s college basketball received 22 stories totaling 550 inches and 20 photos. There was even a long story about the bands that traveled to the NCAA basketball tourneys with three photos! The bands get more respect in USA Today than the 100s of hard-working wrestlers who fought their way to the NCAA wrestling tournament!

          The attendance in St. Louis was over 96,000 and the final three rounds were covered live by ESPN. Some 80 reporters from around the country were there to provide information for fans in their home areas. Some editors somewhere recognize that readers around the country want coverage of the wrestling tournament. But not USA Today editors, sitting in their ivory tower in McLean, Va.

            On Monday, the editors could have cut their basketball coverage by just one story and about 25 column inches (leaving that sport with a mere 525 inches). They could have given wrestling one photo and cut basketball from 20 to 19. Would a single basketball fan be upset? Of course not.

            Here is a copy of a letter that I sent on March 26 to the “Letters to the Editor” department at USA Today. I doubt it will be printed, so it is being offered here to fans of the sport:

Wrestling Deserves Better

            “The editors in the sports department have done the entire wrestling community a grave disservice by the way they ignored the Division I NCAA Championships last weekend in St. Louis. There were over 96,000 fans in attendance, live coverage for two days by ESPN and at least 80 sports writers from around the nation on site, but USA Today chose to look the other way in its own reporting.

            No one denies that men’s college basketball is much more popular than college wrestling. That’s not the issue. The imbalance of the coverage was obscene. On Monday, USA Today devoted nearly 550 column inches and 20 photos to the men’s basketball tournament and two inches of story (buried in a column called “Notes”) to the finals of the NCAA Wrestling Championships. There were no photos.

            Why not show a little consideration for a sport that has been around for 5,000 years and has over 1,000,000 participants in the United States today? Why not a 20-inch story and just one photo for wrestling? Would basketball fans be outraged to have 530 inches of coverage and 19 photos? I think not.

            The sports department at USA Today has shown time and time again that it has no consideration at all for fair play and responsible reporting when it comes to wrestling. Shame on them. — Mike Chapman, Newton, Iowa”

            That’s what I chose to do to relieve my anger and frustration somewhat. So what can other wrestling fans do who have endured this incredible slap in the face?

            My suggestion is to write USA Today and tell the people there exactly how you feel.             The publisher is Craig A. Moon and the managing editor is Ken Paulson. The sports editor is Monte Lorell. You can write them at USA Today 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, Virginia, 22108, or go to the web site and e-mail them.

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