US Olympic Wrestling Trials: Penn State Fans Trash Jordan Burroughs Online After Booing Him out of the Arena

The day 1 of the 2024 Olympic Wrestling Trials went off exciting with Jordan Burroughs and Mitchell Mesenbrink on the mats fighting the men’s freestyle in the 74 kgs seed. The match started with a 2-o, with Jordan Burroughs taking an early lead, eventually winning the bout. But Burroughs got trashed by the Penn State fans for his actions during the match.

Despite the continuous blows that Mesenbrink had been receiving from Burroughs, the former was not letting off the latter’s leg. Jordan Burroughs, who did not like such conduct, shoved his head in return despite the referee intervening. Instantly, the fans retorted with a booing. As the clip of the match went live, they also started to rip apart the Olympic gold medalist on social media.

Jordan Burroughs has a storied career. Apart from being a gold medalist at the 2012 London Olympics, he is a 6x world champion. Recalling that, one fan expressed concern about Jordan Burroughs earning a bad name despite being a phenomenal wrestler on the mats.

It seems like, Jordan is going through a phase of being in troubled water for his conduct. Just a few days back, he was called out by Bo Nickal for saying that he would target Carter Starocci’s injured leg to get an advantage over him. Nickal found that thought not going along with someone of Jordan’s stature. Regarding the fresh controversy, one fan also thought so.

Disappointed by the sudden reactions that Jordan Burroughs had been giving in front of the entire crowd in professional terms, one from the online audience went even more direct with their words as they wrote:

But things were not like this even before a few days when Jordan Burroughs returned to Kunaev International in Kazakhstan in 2023. Prior to this, he had competed in the 79kg category for three years. But he came back to his original 74kg for that tournament. So there was always a doubt regarding his performance in that category. However, he made everyone hail him by securing a victory in the tournament. That is how the fans want to see Jordan rather than for the wrong reason.

But after his deed, many, like this fan just discarded him even after all the accolades he has gathered for himself.

Notably, this is not the only controversy Jordan has been into in recent times. Jordan has been embroiled in a fierce war of words with Penn State sensation Carter Starocci for some time. But that does not take away his legacy from him. Who can forget how he took over Kunaev International?

A staunch comeback before the Olympic Qualifiers

The Kunaev International tournament was a test of his potential before the Olympic Qualifiers. And he passed that successfully cruising through many tough opponents.

In the finals, he defeated Syrbaz Talgat of Kazakhstan, a 2018 and 2019 U20 World bronze medalist. Talgat scored the opening takedown. An ankle lace turn earned him a 4-0 lead. As Burroughs was forced to step out, he added a low double-leg takedown that eventually gave him a 5-4 lead at the break. In the second period, Burroughs returned stronger with a takedown, then secured an ankle lace, turning Talgat four times to finish off the technical fall (15-4).

After his win, Pennsylvania RTC coach and 2000 Olympic gold medalist Brandon Slay said back then, “Jordan has done a fantastic job being disciplined and getting down to 74 kg. For his first time at this weight since 2021, I believe Jordan did an excellent job making weight, recovering, refueling, and competing at the highest level. His energy, motion, and speed were impressive. He scored lots of points in all of his matches and many points in par terre, which is what blows matches wide open.”

However, Burroughs could not guard his forte in the qualifiers and ultimately had to bow down to Penn State’s Jason Nolf. But his wrestling legacy is one for history. How will you remember Burroughs? Will this controversy change your thoughts about him? Let us know in the comments.