What You Don't Understand About Spencer Lee. 

My only gripe with Spencer was- I was told Spencer left the NCAA tournament after he lost and did not watch his team compete. Turns out that was a false claim made by the media attending the NCAA tournament. This kid is one of the best things to happen to USA Wrestling and the Hawkeyes. He is a true sportsman and great for the sport. Too bad about his knees... What a travesty.

You could watch Spencer over time and see this coming. That young man went through a lot of pain, suffering and training for years. 99.9% of athletes could not endure this. Thanks for the memories Spencer.

His bad knees impact how good he is, but he’s amazing despite that. Who knows if he’s good enough to win at the top level with limited physical capabilities? It’s remarkable that he can even compete with the knee injuries he’s had. As for people who haven’t achieved anything criticizing him, take it for what it’s worth. Nothing. Trust me, 90% of wrestling fans support him, and if they don’t, who cares? Ignore the fools.

I've always been a PSU fan but I always root for the PA boys no matter what team they wrestle for. Spencer is a son of Pennsylvania and has always represented our great Commonwealth with dignity. I look forward to seeing him wrestle again.

I love these think pieces, and thank you for bringing Lee back into perspective for me, I appreciate it

the young man is a complete warrior. I pray he gets healthy so we can see his full wrestling potential.

I back Spencer for whatever he does, or the decisions He makes. He deserves it from me a lifelong wrestler and fan.

If anyone is to blame, I blame the Coaches of Iowa. There's no way he should have been out there competing with that severe of injuries!! They could possibly have ruined his entire career by letting or expecting him to wrestle so injured..

This was well done CP the wrestling community needed someone with influence to step up and remind us that all of these kids are our kids.

Love not only Spencer’s tenacity but his grit and determination to be the best. In life, things happen, good and bad. Hope Mr. Lee can take time to to enjoy today and his bright future to come.

This is truth. Glad to see folks with sense speaking up.

People are quick to forget the Spencer from 2021/22. I see it much how is stated in this video. We're watching an injured guy scratching and clawing for his dreams while battling injuries that would end most others entire careers.

6 NCAA champions competed at one weight class of the USA Freestyle National championships last week. Injured or not this is another big step up in the level of competition.

I just hope that spencer lee gets the support that he needs to keep going and I hope 🤞 that spencer lee can have the respect that he deserves.

Thanks Christian. I’ll admit I’m a Spencer Lee Homer but was totally dumbfounded by the hate thrown his way. I also find it interesting that you don’t hear any negative comments from other wrestlers rather just the armchair fans. Go Spencer, Go Hawks!

Thanks CP and thank you to all the wrestling community that continues to stand behind Spencer.

Good video. I like how you said to maybe have a more charitable perspective on people at the end.

I have been following that young man since he was in sixth grade. I would never question his desire to wrestle or his ability to handle pain. And one thing I want to make clear, is that DeSanto had not secured the takedown before there was Triple zeros on the clock during his senior year. I have watched that match from numerous angles and there is a video on RU-vid that shows the match and the clock and it was complete zeros. The referees were afraid to reverse their decision because they felt that the crowd would go insane. But that is just my opinion. Spencer Lee is one of the best things to happen to wrestling in a long, long time. We as a sport could stand to have a few more Spencer Lee's in wrestling

Yeah I agree with you. Have been in debates in these comments lately defending Spencer Lee. These days people are all too eager to assign blame and guilt, on all range of topics. He's a guy that has done a ton for the sport and comported himself with class since he got to Iowa. He's earned the benefit of whatever doubt, IMO.

I'm actually not a big Spencer Lee fan, but he definity doesn't deserve all the hate. He's a great kid and great competitor good for our sport

Great perspective.

It might have helped the situation if they (Spencer Lee, his dad, the coaches) would have been more transparent about the situation. Instead they talk obliquely about an injury but provide no details. Did he tear his ACL again? Does he have a torn meniscus? Maybe his knees are just fragile at this point after all the abuse and, when pushed too hard, swell up to watermelon size making serious flexion impossible?

In his quarter at the US open it was pretty obvious something was up. He was up by 9 in the first, then just stopped trying to score points the entire second half of the match, even letting his opponent push him out and take him down without putting up any resistance. He's got a lot of wrestling still left in him, and I think the time off to dedicate fully to recovery will be helpful. Many wrestlers come back from debilitating injuries - Kyle Dake, Jordan Burroughs, J'Den, Yianni, Nolf - almost to the point you don't even remember the injuries. He'll be fine.

I feel like everyone’s gone through something like this, mine was with a concussion and battling adversity and coming back the same as you were before. creates fear of failure in front of others and truly sucks. I believe he’s going through sum like that. just with different injuries ofc.

This was a great reporting job Bader. Truth sets us free. Go Spencer Lee. love coach Mag

I remember someone from the nosebleeds screaming at Spencer losing at NCAAs that is a D1 wrestler at Minnesota

Iowa messed Spencer up at a pivotal time in his life. When he was coming out of PA, he was smart, humble, and focused. When he got to Iowa, he took on the badass Iowa attitude and tried to be like Tom Brands. It didn't work for him and made him try to push through his injuries. I'm sure the Brands brothers were in the background saying, "Take one for the team, Spencer", and he sure did. Penn State would have been a better fit, and he would have thrived there.

Well said! Spencer is at another level!

great and convincing video. and yeah, the loudest boos come from the cheapest seats. If you are booing loud....be real with yourself about what is cheaply "seated" in your heart. i.e. jealousy, envy, to name a few. look past your own shortcomings and cheer someone on

I love it when an athlete has difficulties and he comes out and answers every question and faces the music nobody likes to lose or nobody likes injuries or nobody likes things when things go wrong shows a lot about your character sometimes when you do that I just wish Spencer wouldn’t either wrestle back or came out and at least face the vans which everyone loves him. Do you have all these Thousands of kids looking up to him and he doesn’t come out and face the music. I just wish you would’ve doesn’t make it right or wrong I just wish you would’ve. Anyway I wish him the best and I hope he heals up and gets back I love watching him wrestle.

He love him or hate him he makes it fun to talk about. He's a grown man through he can speak for himself if he wants to, he doesn't need cheerleaders

We need to shine more light on juco wrestling

Look at what he did in Cadet and Junior Worlds!!! All he needs to do if get truly healthy and he'll be back to bringing home Gold at the senior level. No question!!

This young man is one hell of a wrestler and a great ambassador for Hawkeyes. This from a PSU fan. Learn to be kind . Judgement isnt warranted.

You’re a product of your environment, the environments not a product of you.. when lee’s environment changes he simply walks away.. he would’ve done this in HS btw but he lost in the finals & you can’t really quit after the last match of the year is finished..

He has made some incredible accomplishments. Anyone talking $H!T has no clue what it means to wrestle at that level with knee injuries like he has been dealing with!!!

Get healthy Spencer Lee best though prays and wishes to you and yours brother I know you'll be back healthy and ready to go for the Olympic's.. your a stud rest up get your body healthy

I’ve never seen a wrestler get so much media protection - it’s weird ngl

Our warriors deserve respect.

I think rational people just want to know why he would enter the tournament injured, and injured enough that he might not be able to finish, which is what happened. I think he should have sat out the nationals if his injuries were that bad to begin with. No one would have questioned that. But to enter, and then pull out again, so soon after the NCAA's... even fans of his will question that.

The most beautiful thing about wrestling = no EXCUSES. Do or no do!

Incredibly presented

yea there were a couple matches that come to mind where i knew he was hurting badly.

I called it after NCAA's, either he was going to go on the greatest revenge tour ever, or this was the beginning of the end. As of right now unfortunately, it's looking like the latter.

Right!!!!

He is awesome

He lost and then forfeited out, leaving his teammates with zero effort, zero leadership, even when the team race had not been decided. That is something you just don’t do.

They ( people ) don’t know the PAIN he’s in !!!!!

Good presentation, but my beef against Flo is they give no respect to the greatness of Amit Elor. Ben Askren didn't even know she had won GOLD in 3 International tournaments in 2022 by tech fall in the finals without a point scored against her.

NO NOT YHEY SPENCER LEE CHOOSE TO SHUT IT DOWN IN 2022 !!!! He SAID HE WAS IN TOO MUCH PAIN & COULDN COMPETE AT HIS FULL POTENTIAL LIKE THAT

I'd like to see all those fans criticizing Spencer have their knees snapped and wrestle at the highest level and not just compete but find ways to win, yes spencer isn't superman but compared to most Athletes he is.

100 %

My biggest problem here is that he *is* putting the team before himself. I am very worried that his willingness to compete on injured knees has caused him to accumulate a level of damage that will ultimately prohibit him from attaining his international competitive goals. There are things one cannot “tough out”, no matter how tough you think you are. But - maybe it’s not too late. Spencer is still young. I would encourage him to consider planning for 2028, rather than 2024. He is not healthy, and his knees are certainly unhealthy, and his cartilage & ligaments might need an extended break to get as healthy as they can be in preparation for an Olympic run in 2028.

What a robot if you have never dealt with acl surgery and recovery you don’t get it I have went through it he must just be a monster

I'm a psu fan, but i have followed Lee since he was a kid. I have so much respect for him, and the ppl who keep trying to tear him down are what is wrong with the sport....with any sport, really. A lot of ppl love to hate a winner...which is why it's not hard to find a lot of negative talk about Bo Bassett. Wrestling fans will brag about wrestling being the hardest sport there is, and at the same time trash the best wrestlers. Make it make sense. Lol.

People right away saying he was a “quitter” and “selfish” are idiots straight up. Get your ass out there and try to do 1% of what he does and say that shit again. I’m a Spencer fan and I’m a fan not only because of his insane skills but he’s also a good person and so many people just hide behind their phones and say horrible things.

So sad you have to make videos like this. It’s even sadder that it won’t matter to plenty of people, they will still rag on him. If you haven’t been severely injured or had surgeries it’s hard to understand just what that means in terms of recovery, especially for an athlete like Spencer.

I knew he wasn’t himself that last part of the the BIG 10’s.

haters gonna hate. If the herd is hating on you, you are probably doing something right.

i’m here

I hold nothing against Spencer but the reason some folks are not willing to give him the benefit of the doubt is because of that statement he made: Excuses are for wusses. With that said, I am not saying I disagree with his decisions to pull from the tournaments but you asked why some folks are not willing to offer him that grace. That's why. Brag to the whole world and some in the world will brag right back.

I once had to make a great decision. Go home to my wife or go to the bar,. I went to the bar. I am now been divorced for 10 years. We all have our own issues.

High mental toughness

I don't know of anyone talking bad about Spencer and if they are, they're jack-asses! He has nothing to prove to anyone. He's still going to go down as one of the greatest of all time!!

Wrestling fans are nuts. Spencer is a guy who has been operating at the highest level of sports through injuries that would keep him from even being able to join the Army as an E1. Give the guy a break,the benefit of the doubt. " Maximus: "Are You Not Entertained? Are You Not Entertained? Is This Not Why You Are Here?" Arguably the most recognizable quote from the movie, this line delivered by Maximus goes to show the lack of empathy the crowd embodies.Jan 31, 2022"

Spence Lee Apologist lol

Look, you make good points, but the fact is he made the decision to push off the surgery, you have to deal with the consequences of that, then HE decides to wrestle in the next tournament, then he bails again. You did a video saying that because he entered early that he was healthy and made him the favorite, if he wasn't healthy at NCAA's, he certainly didn't get healthy in the short period between then and the US Open. HE has made bad decisions that are now affecting his ability to compete and he continues to make those bad decisions. He needs to try and get healthy and then move forward, if he can't get healthy, then he needs to decide if he's going to compete. You can feel bad for him, but he made decisions that weren't in his long term best interest and now he's paying the price. I would have more respect for the situation if he had talked to the media after losing at the NCAA's and after losing at the US Open. You have to own what happened, sending your Dad out to cry during an interview is not a good look.

Spencer is as tough as they come if he was a navy seal he’d be David goggins he’s as tough as they come, doesn’t brag doesn’t celebrate he just wins and leaves the mat, this guy isn’t afraid of a Komodo dragon with a piece of meat tied to his body, he will be the Olympic rep for the us, Spencer doesn’t duck anybody if he is healthy he will wrestle if he isn’t healthy then he doesn’t, I don’t think Spencer cares what the hell I think

How do you know what I’m wrong about?

Sitting here with information as of May 6th, I do not think Spencer can continue at the next level at this and the upcoming Olympic cycle. That could mean his wrestling career is over. He would have to rehab for months beyond the Olympics. He will probably not be able to do that and return before he is completely recovered. That will be the end.

Anybody talking about Spencer Lee I’m beating they a** -Guy snapping on That Chief Kief song

BEG Wrestling is going to have something to say about this 👇 ru-vid.com/group/PLeS4aCGlTIpUVy8Yk69VT5j4ay7l1382H

This video just highlights the mismanagement from his parents and his coaches through his injuries

I think its time for him to walk away from competing and start building his own brand.

He should have attempted to wrestle back. He will regret that decision one day.

Much love Lee, haters gonna hate

Spencer Lee is like a high end power tool at harbor freight. It's amazingly strong and powerful, until it breaks

Problem isn’t the withdraws it’s all the excuses are for wusses stuff and making excuses when he doesn’t win

Leave Spencer Lee alone and stop putting him on a pedestal. Let him do his thing without all of your hype.

Pyles carrying water for IA. What's new?

He’s a human being he hurt himself and he’s not that same

I am waiting for the movie. everyone will make excuses for him but the fault is ultimately falls on the school, the coaches, and even the parents. I guess the money is too big so parents sacrificed him. everybody knows there is big money in sports but the career are very short even if you are successful and you have what is considered a long career you are still only what 35 to 45 so now what. Go work at Walmart as a greeter. I am shocked how many parents are throwing their kids to the sharks for money. People wonder why kids are confused, depressed, turn to alcohol/drugs well look at the parents. who are the kids going to turn to for protection. Coaches are a joke only care about their wallets, presidents of school the same. what result do you expect. I hope this kids files a lawsuit against everyone. Sorry, for him but the parents failed to protect him.

as a big spencer fan myself,, you d riders doing this is not helping at all. Its like a soccer mom running onto the field

Do you know how many guys have had more serious injuries that they never disclosed one bit of information on no matter how much they failed to wrestle up to their potential due to their health holding them back?

Speculation! Everyone has their own version of what Spencer Lee 's going thru and bla bla bla! Spencer needs to man up and come forth to the media with an honest explanation. If not he's going to erase all the great accomplishments he's achieved and go out and leave wrestling fans with a bad taste in our mouths!

I feel like he got that hate because his mom was acting like a goddamn child lol.

And he didn't get his knees medically corrected initially because...?

Ask mark rippitoe on acls and high level athletes. Few professional level athletes have both fully intact acls. The hamstrings take over for stability. For him to use this as an excuse is to allow an excuse for every high level athlete to blame their performances on something that many other people experience but don’t complain about. He is afraid to choke again but he’s still a great wrestler

Anthony Robles won with no ACLs

He asked for this microscope when he QUIT after getting stuck by Ramos.

Christian, I’m not certain what your goal was telling this story. We all know you are an Iowa homer….we get it….But ur bias of telling us something we knew and didn’t need to hear again about this guy, could have been better spent encouraging Iowa to not gamble, and how to actually score points on the mat. I’m sorry ur son was probably the influence of ur story, as we all know how he quit after Ramos….he wasn’t physically hurt….he could have wrestled, but mentally couldn’t take the loss. Don’t teach ur son to walk away when he loses in life.

SPENCER STILL BEAT NOTO 14-4 WTF YOU TALKING ABOUT HE STILL WON BY MD

Team Spencer until I died

So much hypocrisy with this whole situation…..does some crazy interview about excuses are for wusses…came across as half in the bag in that interview in my opinion….now he forfeits out of ncaas after a loss, gets to his toughest match at the us open and bails…does an interview with barstools and claims he didn’t loose or quit due to injury…..literally said that he doesn’t like people making excuses for him….then dad gives some bs scripted interview making excuses….now pyles doing the same thing….clearly Spencer has not been healthy for a long time, but these recent interviews are doing nothing but making him look like a *ussy…it’s getting exhausting….excuses are for wusses

Holy shit, flowrestling just gets nerdier by the second

Adult male fans get toxic quick. We should let the youth take the lead more

Iowa threw him to the wolves from the very beginning and Lee paid the price. Sadly, he's done.

He ran from Soriano in college then ran from him at the open. One day he might wrestle Soriano again, but Larry is afraid of Soriano. Spencer don’t make his own decisions.

Don't care how many matches he won or his domination over everyone . He'll be remembered as the 🐈 who got did up pretty good his last match .

A true champion is not prone to injuries