Burlington senior Josh Bird mired in layered controversy surrounding match
“I hit him open-hand.”
“I hit him open-hand!”
These weren’t the desperate pleas of a misinformed, emotionally charged teenager.
They were the last-ditch efforts of an 18-year-old man who won a high school state wrestling championship with a lifeless, dangling thumb, to salvage some form of sanity moments after a disqualification ended his storied career.
Burlington High School senior Josh Bird is a student, teacher and master of the wrestling world, and his five-word statement to head coach Jade Gribble moments after Saturday’s regional semifinal match at Muskego High School simply didn’t matter.
Josh knew that, by WIAA rule, he was allowed to hit his opponent on the head with a club, as long as the forearm connected, and he could even make contact with an open hand.
According to Gribble, a closed fist is grounds for disqualification.
A video posted to YouTube Monday by Josh’s dad, Kevin, is a plea by a father protecting his son. He simply asks viewers to be the judge.
Were the aggressive, physical actions grounds for a DQ?
Due to his disqualification in the opening round of the WIAA postseason, Bird did not finish as one of the top four competitors at the regional, thus preventing him from advancing to sectionals and crushing his dream of third state title.
A report came out Sunday that Bird was kicked out for “flagrant misconduct” and that he even made an “obscene gesture” to the crowd, including several people who felt it necessary to say something to Josh as he walked off the mat in disgust.
“I did not flip off the crowd,” said Bird. “I raised my entire hand at them, not the middle finger.”
A reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who was at the match, wrote that Bird made an obscene gesture to the crowd after being booed. The correspondent’s editor on Wednesday said the newspaper stands by the reporter’s account.
It’s important to consider Bird, though legally an adult, is still a high school kid. He isn’t some “monster that punches people,” as Gribble described as some of the rumors that have been spreading.
“Josh didn’t try to hurt the kid,” Gribble said Tuesday afternoon. “He has worked really hard to get to where he is.”
“I had an assistant coach follow him off the mat, and he said Josh didn’t flip off the crowd. I’m not saying his actions during the match weren’t flagrant. He just didn’t punch anyone.”
Gribble stressed he isn’t condoning Bird’s actions “at all,” but some coaches even encourage clubbing forearms.
“I saw an open-handed jab to the forehead,” Gribble said. “I’m not blaming the referee one bit.”
A physical match
While the extra-curriculars are no doubt provocative (the blog and video on www.myracinecounty.com combined for thousands of hits in half a day, numerous Facebook comments and over 100 shares), the real story here is what happened during the match.
From the beginning, Bird and Greenfield’s Nicholas Pollack went after each other.
Bird won his first match by pin in 56 seconds, his first match since Jan. 22. He was wrestling with a large leg brace extending from his thigh to his ankle.
According to Kevin Bird, doctors strongly discouraged his son from competing at all because of torn ligaments in his left knee, and Kevin and his wife, Caryn, also didn’t want Josh out there.
“Caryn and I knew we could not make the decision, he had to make it,” Kevin said of Josh. “The doctor thought it would heal on its own with therapy in six to eight weeks and aggravating it would most likely mean surgery.”
“Given the circumstances that happened, it may be a blessing in disguise that the chips fell as they did.”
A two-time state champion, Josh Bird has dreamed of being a state champ and college wrestler since middle school.
In eighth grade, he set the goal of being a four-time state champ. Next winter, when he will compete on scholarship at Division 2 Chadron State University, Bird has a goal to win four national championships.
This is a kid on another level of competition, desire and willpower, and as Kevin put it, Josh would’ve wrestled “on crutches.”
“Josh was crushed and really did not know what to say or do,” Kevin said Monday. “He could not bear not trying, so the plan was to find out if coach Jason Bousman could tape it so the brace would still fit. Then they padded the outside and put a sleeve over it.”
“He did some light movement on Thursday and then picked up the pace with some hand fighting at practice and after-practice with his personal coach from Higher Level Wrestling. He had been riding the Airdyne (stationary bike) to keep his conditioning and strength training with his upper body.”
So we’re not talking about any wrestler, but a highly experienced lifer who only eats and sleeps to survive. Otherwise, he’d wrestle 24 hours a day.
When it comes to rules, Bird is no slouch.
A few seconds into the match, after both grapplers were aggressively slapping each other in the head, the referee stopped action and appeared to talk to both before allowing the action to resume – most likely calming them down and warning them.
Bird clearly shook his injured leg and appeared in pain roughly 40 seconds in, and a bit later, fell on his face after attempting a spin move.
His bad knee twisted, and he was still on the mat for a few seconds, something that could be seen as stalling, but Bird wasn’t called for it.
While Bird was face down, Pollack kept up the attack, bouncing around on Bird’s back.
With the referee facing both wrestlers, Pollack jumped and came down hard with a knee to the back of Bird’s injured knee.
As Bird fought back, Pollack continued attacking his opponent’s weakness, eventually laying his full body weight on the back of Bird’s injured leg.
Bird, who seemed to play it right down the middle after the ref’s warning, flipped Pollack off his back, twisted around for an escape and in one sweeping motion clubbed Pollack across the back of his head with great force.
Bird’s fist looked to be closed, but the referee was behind Bird and had as good of an angle as he did when Pollack attacked Bird’s knee.
After a few more seconds of grappling, with Pollack “running,” according to Bird, or retreating backwards, Bird unleashed a series of open-handed slaps with Pollack falling out of bounds.
The same slaps, mind you, that both wrestlers used in the beginning of the match.
After a few minutes of discussion, Bird was disqualified, and his high school wrestling career was over.
Let the wrestlers decide
Excessive or not, a referee decided the match and became the center of attention and ultimately cut short a promising season.
It was a very physical match, and there was an initial warning, but the finality of the referee’s decision isn’t fair.
Because a wrestler continues to perform in an aggressive style, something he’s done all his career, but does so within the rules of the sport (the clubbing blow is completely legal, along with the slaps), it’s OK to DQ him?
Especially with such high stakes?
I understand it’s the referee’s call and, yes, Bird certainly attacked with a controlled viciousness, but you simply don’t make that call.
Not on that stage. Not when both wrestlers are clearly turned up to a volume of about 100.
And not when on multiple occasions, after you give a warning, one wrestler clearly attacks an opponent’s injured knee.
The referee should’ve given a final warning, cooled both guys down and deducted Bird one point for unnecessary roughness.
Why can’t the wrestlers decide who advances to state, the pinnacle of not only the season, but also a career?
Bird, who Gribble reiterated Tuesday as a fun-loving, light-hearted kid, said he should’ve lost a point.
“No it’s completely legal, at the worst it’s one point for unnecessary roughness,” Bird said. “I don’t believe I lost it. I believe that I wrestle with the same style and tenacity as some of the best wrestlers. Wrestling is a physical sport and the high school level is getting away from that. If a wrestler is going to target an injured body part, then he should be able to take what he dishes out, not run backwards and cower off the mat.”
Lessons to learn
While it is my opinion that the match should’ve continued, I in no way blame the referee, Pollack or any coaches, fans, or Bird.
The referee did his job, Pollack and Bird are excellent competitors who tried to win and there were no evil intentions here.
So what did we learn?
Well, sometimes in sports, your emotions can get the best of you. Even the most talented professionals can get frustrated enough to make themselves look bad.
Second, referees are the closest thing to a supreme being you will see on this earth. They have the power to eject players, stop action, alter outcomes and upset or satiate crazed, passionate fans.
Finally, your family has your back, no matter what.
Kevin Bird emailed me Tuesday night about the support Josh has received after his unfortunate incident.
“We have had an outpouring of support from the wrestling community with a lot of encouraging words for Josh to grow from this experience and use this setback to get stronger and better not only in wrestling but in life,” he said.
Pollack lost his next match, the championship at 138, in the first period.
And Bird now has an offseason to prepare with his dad and coaches for the next level.
Josh Bird will rise again, and he will probably win a lot more matches in his life.
Burlington is sending six wrestlers to Saturday’s sectional, and a few have a good shot at state glory – the pinnacle of the high school wrestling world.
“Losing out on his goal of another state title was heartbreaking for him,” Gribble said. “We all respect that young man.”
As a community, it’s time to support Bird and encourage his undeniably bright future.
Collegiate athletics are much more intense, stressful and competitive than high school. Bird and his family need positive influence now more than ever.
Bird is an eloquent, respectful young man who is an absolute joy to watch on the mat.
He hits hard and moves with an unmatched intensity, but exudes style, grace and athleticism along the way.
Don’t let Saturday’s final image of his high school career spoil the fact he’s displayed admirable work ethic, sportsmanship and genuine love for wrestling throughout his historic career, which included three state championship matches and two titles.
It’s time to move on.
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Thank you! As a long time supporter of wrestling in Burlington, I believe you found reality in your words. These wrestlers go beyond dedication for the sport with intense workouts that the majority of people could not tolerate. However wrestling is mostly a mental sport and I’m sure Josh has been more critical of himself than anyone could ever know.
I can’t wait to see what the next level has in store for Josh. All the very best to him!!
I have viewed the footage and completely disagree with the Josh being disqualified. If they are going to disqualify him for a push or brush off to the head then disqualify the other wrestler for the punching of Josh’s arm around the 1:30 mark and what appears to be the rough knees to the back of Josh’s injured leg. Wrestling is a contact sport how soft are we willing to make it?
I don’t know what video the writer saw, but I couldn’t disagree more. Bird was clearly frustrated and in pain when his injured kneed buckled and the other kid got the take down. Pollock continued to wrestle in a physical manner from the top – it’s not his job to worry if his legal moves are harming his opponents knee! Josh’s slaps to the head as Pollock went out of bounds were not the same as the clubbing blows. Josh looked more like a boxer than a wrestler taking 4 open had shots out of bounds. Ramczyk is just showing his bias to the hometown kid in the same way the newspaper did by posting an earlier article and not allowing any comments. Bird lost his cool and screwed up. Accept it and move on.
Open hand “slap” is flagrant misconduct. Ref did a great job, but Josh let his emotions get the best of him. And please, if you are going to say “by rule”, please state the rule.
Rule 5-12, Article 2: a. Flagrant misconduct is any physical or nonphysical act which occurs before, during or after a match considered by the referee to be serious enough to disqualify a contestant from the match and any additional wrestling in a multiple school event. b. Acts include, but are not limited to: 1. striking; 2. butting; 3. elbowing; 4. kicking an opponent; 5. use of any tobacco products
Thank you for posting the rule David M. This has got to be the most Homer of homer articles I have ever read.
Good job by Coach Gribble by repeating supporting the person, not his actions. That is very telling.
So we are left with tree questions. First who if anyone made a bad call. The answer is a clear yes on many fronts.
Should an injured athlete be allowed to compete against Doctor’s orders? Against the better judgment of his parent? No. Bad call number one. Who do you blame. My vote goes to the coach. Athletes and athlete parents if allowed will push themselves and their kids beyond reasonable limits. It is the coaches call to bring reality to the situation.
Should a highly experienced athlete wrestler pursue an opponent who is clearly out of bounds and begin flailing him repeatedly and not expect repercussions? No. Bad cal number two. By the by in the “Judge for yourself” video it appears his last flail was with a closed fist. Who is to blame? “Judge for yourself”.
Will every athlete who receives a questionable call from an official have that ruling be voted on in a court of public opinion complete with a video published in the new paper website to “judge for yourself”? I doubt it. Bad call number three. Who is to blame? Everyone who got sucked into this mess especially a reporter who would better serve his community by reporting facts and not speculating on events he did not witness.
So what lessons were learned? Apparently non especially if we let entitlement rule our judgement.
1) Agree that what is lost is all this “controversy” is how is a HS kid allowed to wrestle against MD and parents wishes? Yes he is 18, but playing a HS sport.
2) I see aggressive wrestling by both kids, a warning by the ref, more aggressive wrestling, then Bird taking 4 swipes as the kid is retreating. Never any hard shots on Birds knee when the kid was on top, just covering.
3) open hand, closed hand who cares. Justify all you want, but swinging away at someone should not be tolerated. At the minimum 1 point, but agree with the ref for the DQ. Obviously Burlington coach did.
4) This “journalist” should be ashamed of himself with this puff piece.
You people that think josh should of been DQ don’t understand wrestling. He didn’t get to become a 3 time finalist/ 2 time champ by being a soft sissy wrestler. Wrestling is a physical sport, physical that means 2 guys imposing their will on each other. when you go on to the mat, you expect to come back with a bruise or two.
The ref totally put the match in his hands. You can’t tell me that the ref didn’t know who josh bird was. Everyone who knows anything about wrestling in the state of Wisconsin knows who josh bird is. If josh isn’t who he is does the ref still DQ him? Does any of this story happen? I doubt it. 5 years ago no way is this grounds for a DQ. Wouldn’t be surprised if they ban wrestling because it’s “too tough”.
Ex Wrestler, I appreciate your passion for the sport but to be fair your assumptions that “You people” lack understanding of the sport or the facts surrounding this issue are unfounded. As a father of dedicated athletes, I understand the sacrifices, personal commitment, and discipline it takes to compete and win in sports competition. All of my sons were multi-sport athletes and yes they wrestled. So yes I do understand what it takes to win and I assure you they do as well.
I am also confident that whatever I may lack in absolute knowledge of the sport is more than compensated by that of the referee officiating at this event since that is what he does for a living. He no doubt understands the seriousness of what he saw. To suggest that he somehow tanked Josh with his call is also unfounded and in my opinion absurd.
I do know a great deal about parenting. It is a two fold responsibility. You encourage your kids to succeed, to win. You support their decisions even if you do not totally agree. But you do not deliberately put them in harms way.
Actually, Josh Bird put the ref in the position of making a decision by flailing away at the kid 4 times at the edge of the mat. And yes, I am a “you people” that know quite a bit about wrestling. This has nothing to do with wimpifying of a sport. Nothing about open versus closed fist. Nothing about hitting the knee. Quit with the excuses. 2 kids were wrestling hard, they were warned. It continued both ways then Josh stepped it up by swinging at the kid. There is no wrestling move in the last 5 seconds of that video. If he really was looking to score he would have toe’d the line and and got his 2 by covering the guy waist high. Instead he choose to swing away.
The match described above is not the one I watched.
First Bird was the one the initiated the hard contact.
Second the ref stopped them both.
Third Birds leg buckled as he took a shot and the other wrestler got two easy points.
Fourth the other wrestler did rise up 4 inches and drop weight on the bad leg.
Fifth Bird escaped with in 3 seconds of that so there was not repeated cheap shoots.
Final point Bird was on his feet and awarded a point and no longer in danger.