There was a scary scene in Illinois this week as a youth wrestler knocked out another boy after losing his match.
Poor sportsmanship was on full display at a youth wrestling tournament in Oak Park, Illinois this week. A video of two eighth-grade wrestlers has gone viral after one boy hit another, knocking him out cold on the mat. The events of this incident came after the match when the two were brought in for a handshake. The losing boy has other plans as he sucker punched the winning boy unexpectedly and left him bleeding on the mat.
The third-place 125-128 pound match at the Beat the Streets Developmental FS tournament in Oak Park, Illinois was the scene for this chilling incident in youth sports. In a video shared by TMZ, the winning boy, Cooper Corder of SPAR Academy can be seen being struck by the loser of the match, Hafid Alicea of Maine West High School. Immediately they were separated by the referee but the damage had been done.
Hafid Alicea of Maine West (IL) throws a sucker punch at the line
Youth wrestler sucker punches rival in the FACE during post-game handshake after defeat
The incident between both eighth graders took place at a tournament in Illinois pic.twitter.com/DwKgTevpgx— Truthseeker (@Xx17965797N) April 19, 2023
Eighth-grader wrestler punches his opponent after losing a match
According to TMZ, the wrestler who was hit suffered an injury to his nose that will require him to where a face mask until fully healed. A SPAR Academy representative, founder Justin Pearch gave a statement to TMZ.
“He is making the best of the situation and is already back to training,” he said. “As you may know, wrestling matches can get heated but nothing leading up to the punch would give cause to such bad decision-making on the opponent’s part. It’s not tolerated in our sport and Spar Wrestling will never condone that behavior.”
The police department of Oak Park, Illinois was notified and they are looking into the incident. The parents of both children are involved as well and are cooperating in the investigation.
3 thoughts on “Eighth Grade Wrestler Knocks Out His Opponent After Losing Match”
Lifetime ban from competition.
Should be jail time, but we coddle juveniles.
WOW….What poor sportsmanship I hope his punishment is swift and severe enough to teach this young man that episodes like this are NOT TOLERATED in any level of competition. This type of behavior is a symptom of a much deeper problem and I hope his parents use this opportunity to get this young man the help he needs and they just don’t turn the blind eye…
should have a lifetime ban and have to pay 10,000 fine to player he hit