By Stephen Patrick
A few months ago I had the privilege of interviewing 3x NCAA, 2x World, and Olympic Champion, Mark Schultz. Mark is known for his unique life story, well documented in his book
Foxcatcher, as well as his many athletic accomplishments. He is an ambassador for the sport of wrestling, and is often considered (along with his brother Dave) one of the top 10 American wrestlers of all time.
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| Dave (L) and Mark (R) Schultz admiring their Gold medals after the 1984 Olympics. Daily Mail |
At the time of our interview the political atmosphere in our country was still very heated from the election, the fate of the US freestyle team competing in the World Cup was still unknown, and Jason Peters had recently been fired from Pitt. Mark routinely takes to Twitter to discuss world events, politics, wrestling, and life in general. Around this time he had also tweeted about the head coaching vacancy at Pitt, lobbying on his own behalf. This prompted me to direct message him and set up the interview.
We discussed international relations with Iran, the US converting to freestyle, how wrestling could improve diplomacy, the Pitt coaching search, and one of Mark's favorite topics, the Federal Reserve. What follows here is a summary of our discussion along with some of my personal stories from the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas, where I happened to talk an Iranian gentleman about some of the same issues.
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"I think wrestling is going to play a big part of the US and Iran becoming friends or allies in the future just because there’s no prejudice when it comes to wrestling."
Mark is adamant that the sport of wrestling can transcend political and cultural differences and help break down the diplomatic barriers between these two diametrically opposed countries. There is a stigma that exists in our country about Iran, and for good reason. They've been involved in some of the biggest political controversies in our history. But Mark notes there is a distinct difference between the people and the government: "The government of Iran, they’re so anti American, but the people of Iran are actually pro American." Continuing, "I don’t think there’s any prejudice between Americans and Iranians as far as the people go. It’s all government."
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| Jordan Burroughs shakes hands with Iranian fans at the 2013 World Cup in Tehran. CapitalBay |
But what does wrestling have to do with diplomacy? I don't mean for this article to get too political, but those topics dominated our conversation, and I found the connection between wrestling and politics to be stronger than I had ever realized, especially as a lot of the things Mark told me matched exactly what Yousef (the Iranian from Vegas) told me as well.
Yousef, who immigrated to the United States fifteen years ago owns a wrestling and jiu-jitsu gym in Texas. He noted during our 45 minute cab line conversation that if we (Americans) would travel to Iran we would find a friendly, welcoming people and a beautiful country. We would be treated like rock stars, and once the native Iranians found out we were wrestlers, they would compete among themselves to show us the most hospitality.
Another prominent American wrestler featured in the above picture (perhaps you've heard of him) wrote a blog on this very subject on April 4th. Noticing a pattern here? More on the Champ later...
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It's not just American wrestlers that share this sentiment towards Iranians; the inverse is true as well. There is a mutual respect and reciprocation of decency from our Persian counterparts. Besides the fans practically falling out of the stands in the above picture, Hassan Yazdani, Iran's 74kg rep to the Rio Olympics, made international headlines before the 2016 World Cup by reaching out to an American.
Burroughs withdrew from the competition to be with his wife during the birth of their daughter. Though Yazdani (who would go on to win Gold in Rio) vs Burroughs was slated to be a super-match and ultimately didn't happen, the young Iranian star responded with an incredible act of sportsmanship. He bestowed the Burroughs family - Jordan, Lauren, Beacon, and baby Ora - with a Termeh, a hand-woven Persian cloth. Truly
beautiful.
As pol
iticians can't seem to make any progress with diplomacy, perhaps Mark is more right than one would think: "If there’s going to be a bridge I think wrestling is going to play a part of that, a big part."
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Just as "Little Yaz", as he's known, reached out to the Burroughs family, Mark has also reached out to Iranians.
"I helped Mansour Barzegar immigrate to the United States". Barzegar, Iran's first world champion and Olympic silver medalist, wanted to move to the United States to be closer with his daughter. Mark wrote a letter to Barzegar's attorney, stating his case for why he should be allowed to move to the US. Additionally, Ardeshir Asgari, whom Mark considers one of his "first really good Iranian friends", also wanted to come to the western hemisphere but for slightly different reasons.
Being threatened with death by his own father for leaving Islam, Asgari escaped to the Venezuelan embassy, which eventually handed him over to the US. Once he became established in the States, he took over the head coaching job at Cal State Fullerton. Now Mark believes he is the president of the Nicaraguan wrestling association, although he isn't sure.
Since landing in the United States, Asgari has had an interesting time. While training for the 1988 Olympics, in which he wanted to wrestle for the United States, he was arrested for possessing a pound of heroin. While in jail before his trial, he missed the opportunity to make the team. However, the jury found that he was framed by the Iranian government and awarded him 3.3 million dollars.
While being interviewed by
CNN, Asgari responded "I love this country."
Both of these examples, along with Yazdani, show the mutual respect between American and Iranian wrestlers. If only the powers-that-be would notice.
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Another topic of conversation in my interview with Mark, and one that may or may not have bearing on international relations, involved the US converting to freestyle. In the interest of full disclosure, before the interview I was 100% in favor of switching from folk to free, however Mark made some convincing counterpoints.
"I don't think it's a good idea to hand over control of an American controlled style to an international governing body that we have no control over." Mark believes United World Wrestling (UWW) would not prioritize American interests the way USA Wrestling or the NCAA does. Now, it is not UWW's job to help Americans as they are in charge of the entire world's freestyle and greco wrestling operations, but Mark believes it would be easier and more beneficial to keep the status quo intact and adjust accordingly, rather than a wholesale switch with abrupt and disruptive changes.
"Collegiate style and freestyle are so similar in nature anyway that it really doesn't take much to make that transition."
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| Daily Mail |
This is an area I disagree with. It's actually the main reason I want the US to change. If you watch senior level international wrestling, you'll probably notice a distinct style difference between the US and other world powers. The US often relies on traditional techniques, strong defense, and unparalleled conditioning whereas Russia (and the other Soviet states) and Iran routinely hit "bigger" moves, throws, trips, and creative feet-to-back scores that you would never see in the States. Now the US finished 2nd at the most recent World Cup and 3rd at the Rio Olympics. Maybe our style isn't so bad after all. But call me greedy; I want to win.
An additional con to changing to freestyle would be upsetting the established order, or in other words, the entire wrestling system in the United States from youth to high school throughout the sport's history in our country. Might not go over well with a few people. It would be an arduous process and would have to start in college and work its way down to youth. It would require educating our nation's high school and middle school coaches. It would take time, money and organization. I believe it would be worth it.
There are rumblings in the wrestling world regarding potential rule changes in college to allow for push-out points and nearfall points from the feet. These two rules would not undermine the idea of folkstyle, but it looks more like a soft transition to freestyle rather than a simple modification of folk.
Another aspect of having a style that differs from the rest of the world, and from that of major international competitions, is the individual athlete having to adjust to the rule and style changes right after the college season ends. Some people think that transition is harder than others. Just take it from Mark: "All you have to do to switch from one style to the other is just tell yourself 'this is the style I’m going to be wrestling now.'" Wise words.
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Read this excerpt from Jordan Burroughs' blog and tell me that he, Yousef and Mark - all completely independent of each other - don't prove the exact same point:
"Upon touchdown in Kermanshah, Iran, all of our fears and concerns regarding safety were immediately alleviated as we were welcomed with open arms. Reporters lined the airport runway to greet us with television cameras. Fans lined the inside of the terminal in hopes to get close enough to snap a photo. We were well protected with security guards during our entire trip. We were escorted to and from the venue and hotel by police vehicles. Security details stayed by our sides until we were safely back to our hotel rooms each night. But in all seriousness, the only thing that I needed protection from was the overwhelming showering of kisses from adoring fans each day. The Iranian people are some of the most gracious and loving, especially to wrestlers. Their passion and knowledge of the sport of wrestling is incredible. Being in an arena with Iranian fans is electric, emotional, and almost indescribable. Every senior level wrestler should experience what it is like to compete in Iran."
If you're still a doubter, check out these articles:
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The last time an American showed strength towards Iran it worked out well. The Iranian hostage crisis was magically resolved just minutes after our 40th President was sworn into office. Perhaps if we beat Iran at its own game - made their strength our strength - they would be more open to listening. After all, "wrestling is such an important part of Iranian culture."
Who was our 40th President again?
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| Dutton Books |
