The United States fencing team’s chances of going to the 2024 Olympics, scheduled to be held in the city of Paris, France, just shrank to almost non-existent after one of the members of the team had an outburst that was captured on video. This is what happens when you don’t have solid control over your emotions like an actual adult.
The Daily Caller reported that after a loss in the Pan-American games semifinals held in Peru, Curtis McDowald exploded like a shaken can of soda pop, which then led to officials disqualifying the entire team.
“McDowald was hit with a red card penalty on the decisive point, ending the match. After suffering defeat, McDowald’s opponent then tried to shake his hand, but being the sore loser that he is, he slapped his hand away. And that had our foreign opponent understandably laughing at McDowald, ya know, the same guy who’s supposed to be representing our COUNTRY,” the report said.
This is very, very embarrassing. What’s worse is things continued to get worse from there. It’s painful to watch. Truly.
“While the rest of the American team shook hands with their opponents, McDowald — who competed in the 2020 Olympics — kicked a free-standing banner that was in the venue and put his foot through it,” the Daily Caller said.
“As a result of his little temper tantrum, USA Fencing was disqualified from the Pan-Am games, and even more aggravating, were forced to give up the opportunity to get a medal after having to forfeit the bronze match. And on top of that, they also gained no qualifying points for the Olympics as a result of the DQ,” writer Andrew Powell revealed.
Good work, McDowald. Real good work.
USA Fencing addressed the situation in a statement that was published by USA Today.
“We are disappointed by Curtis’s actions and regret that they have harmed Team USA’s chances of fielding a men’s épée team for the 2024 Olympics. The hill that our men’s épée team must climb to qualify for Paris has now become much steeper. We are determined to focus on supporting these athletes and their coaches as they continue to pursue this Olympic dream,” the statement said.
The angry fencer will also not be allowed to compete in the 2023 Fencing World Championship due to his unsavory actions. Again, good job, my man.
This is not how a grown man behaves. Especially when he’s representing the greatest nation on the planet. I understand that when it comes to sports we here in the United States are somewhat used to dominating the vast majority of athletic sports and competitions in the world, but losing is a part of life. We aren’t always going to succeed. And that’s okay.
Losing is an opportunity for learning. When you examine the reason for your loss, it helps you improve your skill set, points out what you need to learn from the experience. If you never lose, you never grow. In fact, you become stagnate. If McDowald wants to be the best, he needs to suck up his loss and transform it into a learning experience.
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