“Shameful Officiating”: Fans Lash Out as Penn State Wrestling Star Braeden Davis Gets Plot Armor From Refs

The Penn State Wrestling Team has been enjoying a smooth sail in the 2023-24 season. The Nittany Lions have a top-15 wrestler for every weight class right now and are on an undefeated run. Carrying this momentum, the Lions hosted the Ohio State Buckeyes at Rec Hall looking forward to another victory.

Starting things off for the Penn State Wrestling Team at 125 was their new breakout star, Braeden Davis. But, the fans saw that the PSU freshman was about to lose his first match. While this would have saddened them, a decision made by the referee during the bout made them furious instead. They lashed out at the official in a social media post, showcasing an obvious blunder made by him.

When the referee ignored a legitimate takedown

Penn State Wrestling tweeted a new video to its official X account showcasing the 125lbs bout against Ohio State. The tweet carried the caption, “Starting off strong with a W from Davis at 125.” While the video did showcase the true freshman Braeden Davis taking the win, the video clearly showed that this bout didn’t belong to him. 

The footage showcased Davis unable to overpower his Buckeye opponent, Vinny Kilkeary, who had the upper hand and was on the offense. The score showed that the Penn State Wrestling star was leading 4-3 and just had to maintain his lead for another 15 seconds. But this was enough time for Kilkeary to slam Davis with a big takedown.

But the win went to Davis as the referee didn’t acknowledge Kilkeary’s effort. This resulted in the OSU wrestler not receiving the three points that could’ve won him the match while Davis got a ‘Plot Armor’, saving him from defeat.

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Fans went berserk in the comments over the bad call made by the referee, which denied the Buckeyes 125-pounder a deserving victory. In fact, even Penn State Wrestling fans called him out for his lack of competence.

OSU wrestler earns support even from Penn State fans

Angry fans mobbed together and launched themselves at the official for the massive error in judgment on his part. One of the angry fans called the referee’s mistake downright shameful.

Another fan stated the utter disbelief they felt when the ref didn’t award OSU the takedown.

Even Penn State Wrestling fans were baffled by the referee’s indifference to the takedown.

While the referee got the heat for his bad decision, the social media team of Penn State Wrestling also got called out. Especially for the caption they added to the win that Davis didn’t earn.

Many fans also saw this as a disrespect to Braeden Davis and as a restrictor of his growth.

One of the comments, however, took the side of the referee and defended him.

Do you agree with the last comment? Or do you also think that the referee needlessly favored the Penn State Wrestling Team?

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