Austin Gomez, a 149-pound junior who joined the Wisconsin program this season as a graduate transfer from Iowa State University, indicated on social media that he and members of his family were the targets of race-based comments following his match at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Gomez defeated Iowa’s Vince Turk 3-2 in a match in which the Badgers’ seventh-ranked wrestler fought off several late moves by the Hawkeye senior.
As he exited the arena floor, Gomez received a mix of jeers and boos from the crowd.
On social media, Gomez indicated one fan had directed racial remarks at him as he exited and he tweeted that he was “living rent-free in the heads of Iowa fans.’’
Gomez’s mother and father also expressed their displeasure on social media and his father, Hector, alleged that some racially-insensitive remarks had been directed to Gomez’s mother and sister.
In a statement released Monday evening, Iowa athletics officials said they were aware of the incident.
“One of Wisconsin’s student-athletes reported a fan in the stands yelling racially insensitive remarks directed at he and his family. The University of Iowa denounces any act of hatred and is committed to providing a safe and equitable environment,’’ the statement said.
Iowa officials indicated they had reached out to their counterparts at Wisconsin and to Gomez to “apologize for the incident and to let them know we are following up on this matter. Any individual found to be in violation of our fan behavior policy is subject to being banned from attending future Hawkeye athletic events.’’
A photo of a fan pointing and yelling at Gomez surfaced on social media on Sunday.
On Monday night, Gomez tweeted a statement of his own and went out of his way to indicate that the individual in the photo “was not the guy who used the racial word towards me. I know exactly what he said to me. The easy thing for me to do would be to put the blame on that guy but that is not the case.’’
Gomez, a Carol Stream, Ill., native, indicated he attended a number of duals at Carver-Hawkeye Arena as a youth and enjoyed the experience, saying that he still enjoys competing there.
“Iowa fans are some of the most loyal and passionate fans in the country who will back their team no matter what and I love that,’’ he wrote. “But there comes a time where certain fans (not all fans) cross a line that doesn’t need to be crossed.’’
Gomez, who made a hand gesture as he exited the arena, apologized for his action and indicated that he could “handle’’ a lot of the words that were thrown his way but felt he needed to address the racial remarks and comments directed to his family.
“That’s where I take a stand and won’t let people walk all over me or my family,’’ Gomez wrote. “My mother and my 16-year-old sister were sitting right behind the Wisconsin bench. They explained to me that they were getting cussed at the whole time as well. A fan cussing at a 16-year-old girl is unacceptable.’’
Gomez, who was scheduled to talk with Iowa officials on Tuesday, said he brought up the subject in hopes that other student-athletes and their families would not have the same experience in the future.
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Gomez defeated Iowa’s Vince Turk 3-2 in a match in which the Badgers’ seventh-ranked wrestler fought off several late moves by the Hawkeye senior.
As he exited the arena floor, Gomez received a mix of jeers and boos from the crowd.
On social media, Gomez indicated one fan had directed racial remarks at him as he exited and he tweeted that he was “living rent-free in the heads of Iowa fans.’’
Gomez’s mother and father also expressed their displeasure on social media and his father, Hector, alleged that some racially-insensitive remarks had been directed to Gomez’s mother and sister.
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In a statement released Monday evening, Iowa athletics officials said they were aware of the incident.
“One of Wisconsin’s student-athletes reported a fan in the stands yelling racially insensitive remarks directed at he and his family. The University of Iowa denounces any act of hatred and is committed to providing a safe and equitable environment,’’ the statement said.
Iowa officials indicated they had reached out to their counterparts at Wisconsin and to Gomez to “apologize for the incident and to let them know we are following up on this matter. Any individual found to be in violation of our fan behavior policy is subject to being banned from attending future Hawkeye athletic events.’’
A photo of a fan pointing and yelling at Gomez surfaced on social media on Sunday.
On Monday night, Gomez tweeted a statement of his own and went out of his way to indicate that the individual in the photo “was not the guy who used the racial word towards me. I know exactly what he said to me. The easy thing for me to do would be to put the blame on that guy but that is not the case.’’
Gomez, a Carol Stream, Ill., native, indicated he attended a number of duals at Carver-Hawkeye Arena as a youth and enjoyed the experience, saying that he still enjoys competing there.
“Iowa fans are some of the most loyal and passionate fans in the country who will back their team no matter what and I love that,’’ he wrote. “But there comes a time where certain fans (not all fans) cross a line that doesn’t need to be crossed.’’
Gomez, who made a hand gesture as he exited the arena, apologized for his action and indicated that he could “handle’’ a lot of the words that were thrown his way but felt he needed to address the racial remarks and comments directed to his family.
“That’s where I take a stand and won’t let people walk all over me or my family,’’ Gomez wrote. “My mother and my 16-year-old sister were sitting right behind the Wisconsin bench. They explained to me that they were getting cussed at the whole time as well. A fan cussing at a 16-year-old girl is unacceptable.’’
Gomez, who was scheduled to talk with Iowa officials on Tuesday, said he brought up the subject in hopes that other student-athletes and their families would not have the same experience in the future.
Iowa probes racial comments toward Badger wrestler
Athletics administrators at the University of Iowa have apologized to a Wisconsin wrestler who claims he and his family were subjected to racially insensitive remarks being yelled by a fan
