I remember when this happened and I was lucky enough to work out at ASU nearly every day as a high school kid with Melvin around every day, 1991 and 1992. It was a tought time for ASU with Bobbie dying and Coach Douglas leaving. Melvin, you were always a good guy and you won. Nobody can take that away from you. I hope all is well with you and you are a champion.
A comment on our sport after viewing this vid on MD, one of the most dominant US wrestlers in history: Glory? I have another thought. Why do we not have a national marketing campaign to put our sport in the forefront among other sports? USA Wrestling etc… along with other organizations should develop campaign slots that create interest in the sport at a national level rather than the grassroots level we currently find the sport in and has been for many years. I believe this approach would create opportunities for current wrestlers and veterans; ie…Kenny Monday, Melvin Douglas etc…Guys like this should be figure heads of the sport all in the position of leadership to teach and preach the principals of the game with financial opportunities within the sport to support themselves and their families. The difficulty here is the fact that our sport is not a professional sport – paid for performance. This is due to the fact that awareness of the sport is low and not appreciated by the general public so advertising and product revenue cannot be generated to a level high enough to support athlete salaries, the creation of a national league and teams. This can change. Once general awareness and interest is created…imagine the possibilities. After an NCAA career comes to an end, a wrestler would be drafted to a pro freestyle or greco wrestling team within a pro freestyle or greco league competing with teams here domestically while developing true talent for the international stage. If the concern is amateur status, the Russian system currently pays their wrestlers handsomely for their performances. At the very least in short, our national wrestling organizations should take the responsibility to improve / develop advertising, TV slots, publications etc…to generate at a minimum the opportunity to create financial opportunities for the veterans that have dedicated their lives to the sport for little in return. MMA is not the answer. Freestyle and Greco offers purity and the representation of one of the oldest sports on the planet.
I am pretty sure Jadidi lost his medals due to testing positive for nandralone (steroids). He got banned from the 1994 WC for testing positive and stripped of his 1993 medal. If it had been video review they just would have overturned the decision and given him the silver medal. This is the first I heard of a video review. While I believe there were points given erroneously, I am pretty sure steroids were the reason Jadidi lost his medal.
Getting it right 2 months later, or not correcting it at all... I want the glory that day they raise my hand! No one cares about the medal or belt coming in the mail 2 months later! Seasoned Champions aren't pleased wit no dang belt or medal if it ain't gold and going home with us that day! We want the glory. We want to get on the airplane and have a little Question and Answer session with the passengers and children wowing at our gold! We want to stand on that podium at the top, and not under some dude that the reff's gave the match to. We want the moment! We want the win! We want the cheers! We want our names on the mouths of the fans looking on! We want kids looking up to us as role models. We want our friends back at home cheering and excited to see us when we get in the house! Not only was Melvin glory taken, so was his family and those who know him best! He came home to a different welcome than if he would have been awarded his rightly due gold. That is unbelievably sad! Its heart wrenching to see this dude standing above you, who u clearly just beat, and he getting all of the glory and love! Dang that Sux Bad! Melvin said it right... They stole his glory... And that's that! Sad it happened, in my opinion, If it was to happen to me... They could've kept their medal! Like cutting me open... Watching it heal, then pealing the scab off... That cuts u deep doc! We can still hear the pain in this voice and see it in his expression... Amazingly 15years later!
Melvin be glad they got it right eventually. Most sports, once the call is made and event is over, then it is over!! Whether right or wrong. Matter of fact, I have never heard of an instance in a sport where a few months later they over turned a call. I give them alot of credit.
Unbelievable story, my heart goes out to Melvin Douglas. As he said, they stole his glory. Of course, I cannot relate, I never won a damn thing in this sport. Slightly similar thing happened to Brandon Slay, he was awarded the gold medal some weeks later after his opponent was dq'ed for steroids. Kind of anti-climactic to get your gold plated medal mailed to you via United States Third Class Mail in some plain brown padded envelope like a month after the games were over. That stinks!
Melvin Douglas "They Stole My Glory"
