After a fight at the Beat the Street Developmental FS tournament, a video of child wrestler Hafid Alicea punching his opponent Cooper Corder in the face has gone viral on the internet.
In April 2023, two wrestlers, Cooper Corder from SPAR Academy and Hafid Alicea from Maine West High School, got into a fight in Oak Park, Illinois.
Corder beat Alicea 14-2, and when he went to shake hands with his opponent, he got punched in the face. The victim hurt his nose, but he is almost back to normal now. The Oak Park Police Department is currently looking into what happened, and the parents of both athletes are helping them.
Child wrestler Hafid Alicea punches Cooper Corder after losing fight in Beat the Street Developmental FS tournament, video goes viral
Hafid Alicea of Maine West (IL) throws a sucker punch at the line… #wtf pic.twitter.com/9m4HAxl2oF
— The Wrestling Room (Pat Mineo) (@MrPatMineo) April 14, 2023
The video of the attack has gotten a lot of attention online, and many people have said that the wrestler did something wrong. Some people have said the athlete should be charged with assault, while others have said he should be kicked out of school. One user tweeted, “Kid in blue needs to go to jail. Coach suspended and school needs to think about expulsion.”
In answer to the incident, the founder of SPAR Academy, Justin Pearch, said, “It’s not tolerated in our sport, and Spar Wrestling will never condone that behavior.” He also said that wrestling fights can get heated, but nothing before the punch would have led the other person to make such a bad choice.
Sportsmanship in wrestling under scrutiny after video of assault goes viral
The video has upset a lot of people in the wrestling world, who say that the wrestler’s actions are not appropriate. One person said, “Charge him with assault. No place for that in our sport.” Another person shared, “Ok I saw a shortened video earlier, but this makes it worse, I thought maybe the kid was mad at a cheap shot or something, just a sore loser.”
Arrest him – File charges and saddle his parents with thousands of dollars in legal fees – THEN – Maybe the parents will get this kid the psychological assistance he clearly needs!
— Warren Hull (@WhokilledBugsy) April 15, 2023
The incident has brought up the topic of sportsmanship in wrestling and how important it is to treat your opponents with respect. The wrestling society has stressed that athletes should be able to lose with grace and not get violent.
Charge him with assault. No place for that in our sport.
— /G Aequitassancti (@Aequitassancti) April 15, 2023
The Oak Park Police Department is still looking into what happened, and they will share more details as they become available. In the meantime, the video is a good reminder of how important it is to be a good sport in all sports events.
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