Two volunteers who made racially charged comments at a youth wrestling tournament in Aberdeen are no longer allowed work future Amateur Athletic Union Events. The comments were captured on a video stream during one of the matches.
Bob Johnson is the National Chairman of the AAU wrestling program. He says the two volunteers were making racially derogatory comments about a six year old Native American wrestler. Johnson says he was horrified by the remarks. He says it was an isolated incident.
“I mean there were at least 2,500 matches wrestled in those two days, all with the same clocks, the same stuff,” Johnson says. “So we had 25 different stations going. I’m guessing we had well over 100 Native American kids in the tournament. And it didn’t happen anywhere else.”
NSU head wrestling coach Rocky Burkett says the incident is being used as an educational opportunity. He says a panel of people from diverse backgrounds will facilitate a discussion with the two volunteers about the language used in the video.