College Wrestling: King's Salata Suspended For Throwing Too Many YOLO Bricks
King assistant coach Julia Salata can’t stop throwing challenge bricks.
by Patterson Kane, staff writer, “Not-So-News News Satire”
She may not have invented the YOLO brick, but King coach Julia Salata has certainly made it popular. Just last season alone, the King University assistant coach threw 177 challenge bricks, most of them after matches had ended, often with no explanation other than, “I didn’t like the call.” In fact, she threw post-match bricks in 113 of the 118 losses incurred by King wrestlers. “It just doesn’t feel right that any of our wrestlers should lose,” reflects Salata. “Ever.”
The NCAA & WCWA has had enough. “Julia Salata has been suspended for the duration of the 2019-2020 season from coaching on the mat in any NCAA or WCWA sanctioned events,” said a combined press release. “This includes any attempt to coach or throw bricks from anywhere within the premises of an event.”
The last statement was a reference to an incident on the King University campus, when Salata threw a brick from the stands even though she was suspended by her own program. Head coach Jason Moorman had suspended her for one dual after she threw a brick so hard it affected an exchange during a match and resulted in a Life wrestler getting a concussion. After Life coach Ashley Sword called it “an outrage” and “a travesty” on Twitter the following day, Moorman suspended her. “We love her intensity,” said the King head coach, “but sometimes she loses control.”
Salata throws bricks in the practice room, the weight room, and even threw it once in a restaurant. “The cheese wasn’t melted,” explains Salata. “Did I really have another option?”
During the suspension, Salata will stay with the King program and seek help. “It’s such a rare addiction,” says Salata. “I’d join a support group, but I may be the only one in the country that struggles with this, other than Lee Miracle.”
Salata is also a senior level wrestler and is training for a run at the Olympics.