SESKER COLUMN: Bashing of Iowa's Metcalf needs to end

The Brent Metcalf bashing needs to stop.

Did Metcalf go over the line when he pushed North Carolina State's Darrion Caldwell at the end of their 149-pound match in the NCAA finals? Sure, he did to some extent.

But let's keep everything in perspective when you talk about what happened Saturday night at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis.

Caldwell did turn his back to Metcalf and started moving away from him. Metcalf gave chase, with time still remaining on the clock, and should've stopped before shoving Caldwell as he started to do a backflip. I'm not a big fan of athletes celebrating wins when time is still left on the clock in any sport. That could be considered unsportsmanlike conduct as well, although Caldwell's actions seemed genuine. He didn't appear to be trying to show Metcalf up.

Emotions were running high. If Metcalf wanted to inflict bodily harm on Caldwell, he easily could have. He wasn't trying to hurt Caldwell. He was penalized one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct and that was it. And that was the correct call.

It is unfortunate that more people are talking about Metcalf's momentary lapse than what a great match Caldwell wrestled. The N.C. State junior had a great game plan, wrestled aggressively and beat one of the best college wrestlers that I've ever seen. Caldwell is a phenomenal athlete and turned in a fabulous performance. The scrambles he won in the match were some of the best I have witnessed in 13 years of covering this event.

But let's keep everything in perspective. Metcalf has been great for the sport of wrestling. He's a great young man and a great ambassador for the sport. He conducts himself the right way, on and off the mat.

You don't see any headlines about Metcalf getting into trouble. He's a Dean's List student and an Academic All-Big Ten selection.

He wrestles the way you are supposed to. He wrestles a wide-open, aggressive, attacking style where he puts points on the board. If more people wrestled like Metcalf, the sport would be much more popular. He's fun to watch. You don't see him beating someone 3-2, hanging on to win 2-1 on riding time or ending up in those marathon, overtime matches where nobody does anything.

He's always looking to score points and wants to turn in a dominating performance against everyone he faces.

Metcalf works hard and is very coachable. He trains the way you should and wrestles the way you should.

You wonder how much Metcalf would have been criticized if he wrestled for Bucknell or Purdue? But he wrestles for Iowa, a team a lot of people love to hate.

He competes in freestyle in the spring and summer, and follows the type of program USA Wrestling encourages its young stars to follow. He dominated competition at Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D., and has continued that as a Junior World Team member and now having success at the Senior level.

Andy Hamilton of the Iowa City Press-Citizen, one of the nation's top wrestling journalists, said Metcalf is one of the most accessible, articulate and classy athletes he's ever dealt with in his career.

Metcalf impressed me with the way he handled himself after losing. He came out and faced the media shortly after the loss, answering many of the same questions over and over about why he lost the match.

I've seen a lot of wrestlers from Iowa, and other schools, refuse to grant interviews after dropping matches a lot less significant than the one Metcalf lost. Metcalf stood there and faced the tough questions. And he gave honest, complete answers to the questions.

Later that night, at the Hawkeye team party, Metcalf was called into the center of a crowded hotel ballroom to address the crowd. The crowd stood and cheered for about 20 seconds after Iowa coach Tom Brands handed Metcalf the microphone.

Metcalf then told the crowd that there was no place he would rather be at that moment than in the ballroom where he was standing. He thanked his teammates and coaches for helping the Hawkeyes win the team title. He was very well-spoken and matter-of-fact, and sounded more like a coach than a college student when he skillfully addressed the large group of fans.

Metcalf stuck around and posed for pictures with Hawkeye fans and signed autographs for them. It was impressive how well he handled everything on a night that clearly did not go as planned.

After the Hawk party, Hamilton told me he thinks more of Metcalf than he ever has because of the way he conducted himself late Saturday night. I couldn't agree with him more.

Let's stop all of this unnecessary Metcalf bashing and move on. His push of Caldwell has been blown completely out of proportion.

Brent Metcalf is a great wrestler, a great student and a great young man. He's a class act.

He is one of the top contenders to make the 2009 U.S. World Team in freestyle, and don't be surprised if he earns a trip to Denmark for September's World Championships. He has an excellent shot at being on the 2012 Olympic Team.

It's easy to forget sometimes that these are college kids. Metcalf is only 22 years old - he doesn't deserve all the negative attention and criticism that has come his way.

It is unfortunate that Metcalf lost a year of college eligibility because he wanted to change schools. At the same time, other athletes don't lose any eligibility after being dismissed from another school. Metcalf should still have two years of college eligibility left. It is a shame that the kid lost a year of eligibility for doing absolutely nothing wrong.

Metcalf only has one college season left and you can bet he will come back with a vengeance. And he will do it the right way, by working hard, listening to his coaches and wrestling his tail off every time he steps on the mat.

Brent Metcalf didn't win his second NCAA title on Saturday night, but he's still a champion in my book.

People who boo a classy kid like Metcalf are the ones who don't have any class.