USA Wrestling has announced the formation of an All-Star team of the "most connected and brightest minds in our sport," charged with the task of convincing the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to keep wrestling on the program for the 2020 Olympics and beyond. Beat the Streets Chairman of the Board, Mike Novogratz, has been selected as the spokesperson of the 13-member group which includes such wrestling legends as Dan Gable, Bruce Baumgartner, and BTS Board Member John Smith. UPDATE: They have also created a donation fund.
As we said earlier, this is not over. The announcement yesterday was the recommendation of the 15-member IOC Executive Board. They will be meeting again May 29-31 in St. Petersburg, Russia, and could reverse their decision then. If they don't reverse course at that point, the recommendation will face a vote by the full 115-member Committee during the 125th Session September 7-10 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. There, they will also be deciding which city will host the 2020 games and electing a new president.
We have until September to convince the IOC that wrestling belongs at the Olympics. USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender said, "We have a great opportunity to show the world that wrestling belongs." See his complete comments at TheMat.com.
