I understand that Rhodes has a piss poor unsportsmanlike attitude, but must the fans in the stadium act the same????????
This weekend at state, I watched him wrestle Eric Johnson from Norton, and the crowd when nuts every time Johnson scored and booed when Rhodes scored. I understand his past, but why do we, the fans, have to stoop down to a level that low, and act like children.
Not to mention he's only a kid, 16, and do you think being booed is going to help this kid change? It's going to only make him worse.
Come on people, think!

I didnt get to see the johnson-rhodes match i was coaching at the time, however I did see the rhodes vs taplin match. While watching that match I was talking to another coach and he said something about rhodes giving a little extra pressure on the knee after the whistle had been blown. Which possiblity should have caused an ejection right there. Then if you saw the Taplin match you know what happend there, I was sitting up in the stands at the time so i couldnt really tell what was said but I heard by hearsay and thats all i know about what happend there.

After the ref ejected rhodes then the coach was being just as bad walking around being sarcastic about what had happend in the match. My thought is it may not be the kid as much as the coaches and parents that get the kids in a type of mood like that. I dont know what coach it was that was doing this but even if i did I wouldnt reveal his name because of the way he acted.

We really shouldnt applaud the bad things that people do so I am not one that will post a name like the coach that lets things like that happen and then is sarcastic like he was about things. I am not taking anything away from the Team of Hard Knox or Coach Knox its just people need to remember sportsmanship.

With regards to Johnson's match I dont see a problem with the people cheering. Cheer in a positive manner and you will be set and not have any of these problems in the first place. The way rhodes acted had nothing to do with the fans in my opinion. He is good and knows it just some times people think they are better than they acctally are.

I mean Thomas Rhodes

I saw that match and many others where kids slamed headgear down on the mat when they lost.
I think it's sad that not only coaches but parents let theas kids act like that.
some of theas kids wouldnt even shake hands when they lost.I know most of the blame goes to the parents, and i'm sure most of them could give a rat's *** less, but I would be embarresed and P.Oed if my kid did that.
It's one thing to be upset when you loos,but poor spoortsmanship gives not only the kid a bad name, but the club as well.

To jrob--I understand your dismay regarding the Rhodes-Johnson match. I am on the Rules Committee and that match started out with two problems from the beginning- the ref didn't keep the mat clear and didn't keep the number of coaches to two per wrestler. Sometimes it seems like the sport of wrestling is turning into WWF, what a shame. I love wrestling for the true competitive spirit, and the beauty and grace of 2 athletes. This match was just that until
the crowd and coaches erupted with feelings.

The calls against Rhodes were a bit much, considering the heavyweight wrestler in a match before this one yelled out, "This is f***ing bull****!", and threw his headgear. This wrestler was not reprimanded at all and apparently had already been warned about his sportmanship by the previous ref on that mat.

I teach my wrestlers, along with many other coaches, not to stop until the ref touches you. This is not high school and in kids wrestling there are too many whistles being blown to distinguish one from another. I coached Thomas when he was a small kid. I have seen him blossom into a fierce and aggressive wrestler, which by the way, this sport asks of you. The real problem is not the wrestler but the attitude of the crowd. No one likes a dominant wrestler with an aggressive attitude. You need to be around Thomas when he is not on the mat. He is very well-mannered, unlike many wrestlers in this state. We should look at the whole kid, not just his actions on the mat with a hostile crowd. I would venture to say that if this were my child, he would not have acted like Thomas on the mat, but my child is not a Thomas Rhodes!!!!!!!!!! .....but if he had to compete under those circumstances, he may react in a manner that is not pleasing to me and the crowd.

I give you all this challenge...pretend you are a 16 year old young man, black no less, and how would you feel if everyone in the crowd would boo when you executed a good move and cheer when the other wrestler did his move? Think about it.

Coach
You may know me you may not, if you do you know that I am a coach just out of high school and I know what its like to be out on the mat now. I understand that it is sometimes like that and gets a little intense out on the mat seeing how I started wrestling at the age of four.
I understand what you are saying but the way it sounded from what I heard with the Johnson match they were clearly out of bounds and he gave a little extra jerk on the leg. (just what I heard) I was more of a laid back wrestler and cant say I was always the best sport in the world but I regret what I did and learned from it. Hopefully these boys can do the same and learn from the mistakes they made.
The way you tell it with the language on that mat they should have both be ejected. As an official of sports if any one is using that language it should not tolerated. No matter if the language comes from an athlete, fan or a coach. The athletes and coaches are the easiest one to catch this on but there is no place in sports for that. If we were to stop that stuff when kids were younger there would be none of that language when they get older. (I think I may adapt this as one of my policies when I umpire baseball and softball this summer)
With the Taplin match I agree with the fact that the coaches and fans were to numerous around the mat and should have been backed off. I think that's one thing we need to figure out at state is a way to keep everyone back. I don't know how to do this I know that officials do the best they can but somehow we need to do that.
And I am not saying that Rhodes is a bad guy or anything like that, most of what I know is hearsay from people that I know and trust. (I did watch the taplin match but as far away as I was dont know what was really said)

The feelings at the ExpoCenter regarding Rhodes and all of the TOHK wrestlers are disturbing. You must put some of the blame on coaches--and entire clubs--that confuse aggressiveness with intimidation-- by route of showboating. Kids rarely learn such actions on their own. They generally have great role models. When I first saw Knox's kids wrestle years ago I was dismayed at the demonstrations following a WWWC (wasn't that the old club name?) match. Following victories there were backflips, raised fists, whisltes, etc. Many were done as much to discredit the loser as they were to reward the winner. After a loss--or during a losing match-- there were the challenges to the refs, the consulting of the rule book, the excessive numbers of coaches in the corners AND around the mat--and last but not least the unified demonstration of disgust/anger as they left the arena. Whether these actions were encouraged or just tolerated by parents and coaches--they existed. And the friction between clubs grew. Since then the Wichita kids appear to have gone through a lot of club-jumping. Are they trying to get away from the negative reputation--or are these new clubs more of the same? To Knox's credit, his club has modified its actions through the years while continuing to produce good wrestlers. You'd have to think Charlie cares about the kids to have devoted so much time and energy through the years... I can't support any athlete in any sport taking cheap shots at other athletes--nor can I support them winning or losing without dignity and composure. I think both are learned--and not reflex actions...and they're not just learned at practice.

Just like clockwork, another state tourney done and another thread started about how terrible TOHK or Thomas act on the mat. Can we find something else to talk about after the state tourney?

In reality, this is what happens year in, year out.
1. Team of Hard Knox wins or contends for state team title.
2. Team of Hard Knox has wrestlers of top quality in its wrestling room.
3. Team of Hard Knox wrestlers are booed when they win and cheered when they lose (by adults).
4. Team of Hard Knox is built from young kids and a few coaches who are dedicated to these young men.

I can speak from experience of what it's like to be in the practice room and coach these young men at the state national level. I'd like to tell you all about it, but it's not that interesting. No, what's more interesting is the stories of what goes on in the room. Making little kids lose 10 pounds or teaching them dirty moves, etc. Boy, those make great stories, too bad none of them are true.

As far as the Rhodes situation, I'm not going to validate his actions. He's done some really stupid things over the past few years and I have told him so on a few occasions. As a friend and coach he has heard it privately from me. I have also told him that he's the guy everyone loves to hate and I'm sure that Coach Knox and Coach Deshazer had told him those same things.

Here we have a gifted athlete, a nice kid, who the adult world that has no affiliation with him specifically , yet everybody wants him to be something he's not. Thomas is Thomas - a kid who I want to choke at one time and hug another, often in the same hour.

However, I think it's wrong to, one put Thomas on a pedistal and ridicule him (he's done some of the same things that others that are not as good as Thomas is), and two, use this forum as a method of tearing down something you know nothing about.

So, here's to the fourth year anneversary of "State is over, let's dog on a kid from TOHK." Hopefully someone at some point in time will step up and "quit hatin' ."

coach gibson

Just like clockwork, another state tourney done and another thread started about how terrible TOHK or Thomas act on the mat. Can we find something else to talk about after the state tourney?

In reality, this is what happens year in, year out.
1. Team of Hard Knox wins or contends for state team title.
2. Team of Hard Knox has wrestlers of top quality in its wrestling room.
3. Team of Hard Knox wrestlers are booed when they win and cheered when they lose (by adults).
4. Team of Hard Knox is built from young kids and a few coaches who are dedicated to these young men.

I can speak from experience of what it's like to be in the practice room and coach these young men at the state national level. I'd like to tell you all about it, but it's not that interesting. No, what's more interesting is the stories of what goes on in the room. Making little kids lose 10 pounds or teaching them dirty moves, etc. Boy, those make great stories, too bad none of them are true.

As far as the Rhodes situation, I'm not going to validate his actions. He's done some really stupid things over the past few years and I have told him so on a few occasions. As a friend and coach he has heard it privately from me. I have also told him that he's the guy everyone loves to hate and I'm sure that Coach Knox and Coach Deshazer had told him those same things.

Here we have a gifted athlete, a nice kid, who the adult world that has no affiliation with him specifically , yet everybody wants him to be something he's not. Thomas is Thomas - a kid who I want to choke at one time and hug another, often in the same hour.

However, I think it's wrong to, one put Thomas on a pedistal and ridicule him (he's done some of the same things that others that are not as good as Thomas is), and two, use this forum as a method of tearing down something you know nothing about.

So, here's to the fourth year anneversary of "State is over, let's dog on a kid from TOHK." Hopefully someone at some point in time will step up and "quit hatin' ."

coach gibson

Let me shed a little light on the subject since I was the one coaching ross in his match against rhodes. First let me start off by saying that I sat next to Thomas at the east/west classic thursday night and had a good conversation with him. He is a great kid for the most part and if he can keep his attitude in check he can be very successful. But wrestling is 90% mental and becuase this reason my advice to ross before he even went out on the mat was that all he had to do is keep his head in check and T-Bone would eventualy lose his cool which is what he did. Now realise that the same offical who refed Taplin/Rhodes match was the same offical who refed the Johnson/Rhodes match. In the Johnson/Rhodes match, Thomas got upset over a call and mouthed off, then he keep stepping over Johnson when they would go out of bounds promting the unsportsmanlike conduct call. So THomas had already got on the officals bad side. Then when Taplin/Rhodes came up I thought for the most part it was a clean match which I am glad becuase there isn't any bad blood between the two. But the problem was that Rhodes coaches not only the two in his corner but the 5 or 6 more standing off the mat where questioning ever single call the offical made and coming on the mat. And quite frankly where being very rude to to the official. With 6 seconds left in the match the offical dinged Rhodes with stalling, which from what I could see neither wrestler was stalling but that didn't matter. He stopped that match and at that point one of the coached said something really stupid to the ref as THomas was going back into referees position. Then apparently THomas looked up at the ref and said F*** You. This then prompted the ref to call flagrent misconduct and kicked him out of the tournament. Now I somewhat agree with what Choach Knox later said when he mention that you shouldn't be ejected for profanity it should just be unsportsmanlike. However to say something like that to a ref, plus everything else he had done throughout the tournament just added up and finally he had enough. As far as people booing and cheering, its part of the game, poeple always have favorites, they do the same thing to Mike Tyson. I think TOHK is a great team and Coach Knox is a good guy but some of their other coaches really need to start asking themselves if they are hurting their athletes or helping them by arguing with the ref all the time.

I believe it's mostly a coaching issue. I did this weekend and have in the past few years see coaches from TOHK make rude comments during matches. There's no place or excuse for it. It hurts the wrestlers and the sport to have coaches breeding this type of attitude. I yell, cheer and scream as much as any coach, but there is no place for the behavior displayed this weekend.

I BELIEVE THAT IT IS RUDE TO BOO HIM AND EVERYTHING, BUT WHAT DOES HE EXPECT WITH HIS ATTITUDE. HIM BEING ONLY 16 AND BLACK HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THEIR ARE TONS OF OTHER 16 YEAR OLD WRESTLER AND EVEN QUITE A FEW BLACK ONES, YOU DON'T SEE THEM TYRYING TO HURT SOMEONE OR TELLING THEIR REFS F*** YOU. I AM SURE IF THOMAS COULD LOOSE THE ATTITUDE A LOT MORE PEOPLE WOULD BE ON HIS SIDE. I KNOW BY TALKING TO SOME OTHER WRESTLERS THAT WHEN HE'S NOT ON THE MAT HE IS NICE AND BEHAVES HIMSELF. IF HE COULD JUST DISPLAY THAT SPORTSMANSHIP ON THE MAT NOW.

In reference to the talk about sportsmanship, I think that when one looses or is loosing that they should do so with dignity, and when one wins then on should be humble. What often times
occurs in any competition is the emotions are running very high, especially at state, and people loose their cool. I can think of many times that my own children did not behave in a
sportsmanlike manner. These times can be used for
learning experiences, and if they are not then
you can just add fuel to the fire. One of my sons
wrestled Mr. Rhodes many years ago and even then
he did not handle loosing very well. It is to bad
that this topic is mostly about him because there are many who, in the words of my Mother, "threw a fit" and if cussing on the mat
is not unsportsmanlike, then I do not know what is. I was not at the tournament this year for the first time in many years, so needless to say I did not get to see any of these matches that you all are talking about, but I have been there and am sure that it is not much different than any other show in the past. Hopefully this will be a learning experience for all. THANK YOU!!!!

Amen. There are few coaches and few athletes who, in the heat of fierce competition, have not acted out in an unsportsmanlike way. I agree that it is during those times that learning takes place-one way or another. We all need to be big enough to know when we've gone too far, own up to it, and set the record straight for the kids we coach. Some coaches do--some don't. By the way, just because a team has a long running tradition of winning it does not GUARANTEE that the winning came in an honorable fashion. Powerful, winning teams in many sports at the high school and collegiate level are from time to time placed on probation (or worse) for violating rules. Most of those teams don't advertise (or admit) that they're in violation until someone else proves it.

i honestly feel sorry for t-bone. He had a great oppurtunity to go to a good college. but he threw that all away when he became the mean SOB we all love to hate. man he is a good wrestler.

You all must have missed his first match, when it was all over, T-Bone couldn't just take his win with dignity, He had to use the kid's face to lift himself up. in other words, he pushed the kid's head into the mat after the match was over. But no one is supposed to boo that because we are adults?

First let me ask you all a simple question. Would you rather have T-Bone wrestling or running the streets and becoming a criminal? Well for me I would rather see the T-Bone we all saw this past weekend instead of becoming a criminal. Yes he does have an attitude that you love to hate. But I do not think that we all need to come down on this young man. I truly believe this all started from his first match. I think do to the fact that I sat on the front row of mat 13 and saw every match that took place there this past weekend. I truly believe that the Ref already had it in his mind that the minute T-Bone messed up he was going to jump on him. It's a shame that it came down to this. Yes T-Bone did make a mistake but is it really his fault or someone else's fault? Here is a young man with tremendous talent that everybody is itching to throw away. I would like to say that T-Bone you first need to go to another club this way Coach Knox can be taken out of the picture and maybe someone can help you control your anger. You are a great wrestler who I believe was treated unfairly and diserves another chance. Keep wrestling as I do believe you can and will become great.

Wow, all this over one 16 year old wrestler. You guys must have an exciting life.

Yeah, one sixteen year old kid who influences hundreds of other kids...You think that's not powerful stuff? I'd say it's worth a little net space. As far as keeping him off the street goes...there comes a time when a kid has to keep himself off the street. He needs to be responsible for his own actions...Coaches may have some influence, but I'm sure he makes his own decisions.