A right way and a wrong way

Earlier, I wrote about Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian, who upon receiving his bronze medal prompty walked off the podium and left his medal on the mat before the gold and silver medalists were given their awards. While athletes should always place a premium on sportsmanship, I thought this action went a long way in conveying Abrahamian's point.

Well, it turns out that Abarahmian's actions were justified, according to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Standing in direct contrast to Abrahamian's more restrained yet very powerful post-match actions were those of Cuban Taekwando comptetitor Angel Valodia Matos, who, after a contested call during his Olympic tournament, kicked a referee in the face.



I know you're a tough Taekwando-dude, but fighting your ref won't accomplish anything. In fact, both Matos and his coach, Leudis Gonzalez, earned lifetime bans for their actions.

Now, it appears that Taekwando has caused consternation for a number of athletes at these Olympic Games, as American gold medal favorite Steven Lopez was defeated on a controversial call by Italy's Mauro Sarmiento in the -80kg quarterfinals Friday. Lopez planned to protest.

Regardless of the outcome, he won't get the gold, or hear the anthem as he stands atop the podium, and that's a shame. That said, if he truly cares about the sport, his example could help shape the future of Taekwando. Hopefully, Lopez learns from the examples of Abrahamian and Matos, and takes the higher road.

He didn't kick the ref in the face, so that's a start.