What is happening in this world that we live in? I know very well that the first amendment of the United States Constitution doesn’t protect you from the consequences of your words, but I often find myself in awe of how far we are willing to go in penalizing those who speak their opinion.

Recently former Central City Middle School principal and current “on administrative leave” Plainview superintendent, Darron Arlt found himself in some hot water. The backlash came after Arlt shared his opinion on a hot button topic impacting the NSAA State Wrestling Tournament. A tournament that many feel is the top NSAA championship event in the great state of Nebraska. I am one of those people.

The addition of girls wrestling has created some growing pains for the tournament and many schools did not receive their full ticket request this year for the semifinals and finals due to high demand. It has created further conversation in regards to what the tournament should look like in upcoming years.

Mr. Arlt shared his opinion and in doing so mentioned that girls wrestling was not ready for primetime. He also eluded to some of the growing pains that the girls division has seen in its short three year NSAA run. Since then he has retracted that portion of his statement admitting that it was poorly phrased. Mr. Arlt also went into damage control taking a photo with the Plainview girls wrestling team.

After an emergency board meeting late last Friday, the district’s board of education moved to place superintendent Darron Arlt on unpaid leave after nearly three hours of executive session deliberations. A decision that personally took me by surprise.

In reading his comments, although I will admit poorly worded, I personally didn’t feel like he said anything that was not the truth. I have been a loyal supporter of girls wrestling in Nebraska for the past four years. I have donated money, I have advocated and I have watched as the sport has truly taken off. I have though also watched a product that has been slow to match the level top to bottom of the boys competition.

In my support of girls wrestling, I have also witnessed an overall failure by the NSAA to get ahead of the growing sport. The initial push for girls wrestling did not have the support of the NSAA and it was far more of a grassroots movement. A thing of beauty really.

Over the years the boys tournament has grown significantly. From the crowded floor of smaller venues to the largest in Nebraska, and still not having enough room at times. It has been a tournament built by the competitors who have provided the moments that people in my profession capture. The girls deserve that same opportunity to take a tournament and make it their own. They did that already in 2021 with the NSWCA Girls High School State Tournament held in York. It was an event that catapulted the girls into the spotlight and paved the way for their NSAA debut in 2022.

Both Plainview and the Arlt last name are well known in the wrestling community. The comments made come from a person who has been around the sport and offers a first-hand opinion. I don’t know about you, but I value those opinions even if I do not always agree with them.

To me the situation brings up a few different concerns. The first is the message that it sends to administrators. Similar to the phrase of “shut up and dribble” when talking about professional athletes, this sends a message to administrators to shut up and run the school.

We need varying opinions. We need those who are willing to speak their opinion. Who will serve in that capacity if everything you have worked for in your career can be gone with the click of a send button?

I don’t have all the answers in life or girls wrestling, but I know that I stand with Darron Arlt. As always, thank you for reading.