Last week, high school sophomore Joel Northrup was faced with a dilemma that no 16-year-old athlete should ever be faced with: should he participate in a state wrestling tournament in which he was one of the favorites or forfeit his opening round match due to his religious convictions?

Northrup, a home-schooled sophomore from Iowa, was set to participate in the state wrestling tournament. He was a heavy favorite in the 112-pound bracket heading into the tournament after finishing in third place in last year’s tournament and going 35-4 this year. When the draws for the tournament were released, Northrup couldn’t believe his eyes as he saw that his first-round opponent was Cassy Herkelman, the first girl to qualify for the state tournament in its illustrious 85-year history.

Unfortunately for Northrop, he is devoutly religious and says that his beliefs are such that it is “inappropriate for a boy to engage a girl in such a manner” and he forfeited his first-round match. By forfeiting, he relinquished his chance to win a state championship in a state where wrestling is more important than air itself and opened himself up to harsh criticism from sports writers across the country. Rick Reilly, the same writer who has been voted by his peers as National Sportswriter of the Year 11 times, came out in defense of Herkelman asking, “Why does any wrongheaded decision suddenly become right when defended with religious conviction?”

Reilly’s ignorance is appalling to many religions, especially in a country where the practice of any religion is protected by the Constitution. Many religions, including Islam and Judaism among others, prohibit their followers from touching the opposite sex. Would Jews and Muslims also be reprimanded by Reilly for following their religious convictions by not wrestling members of the opposite sex? Does Reilly truly believe that Northrup should have violated his morals in order to wrestle Herkelman, who later stated that she and her family respected Northrup’s decision and was not upset at all with Northrup?

Instead of Reilly and a host of other reporters criticizing Northrup for his insensitivity toward women, they should be lauding him for his display of courage and standing up for what he believes in. In a day and age where most teenagers are concerned with the superficial and dating the hottest girl in school, Northrup’s belief that the sanctity of his religion should supersede all else should be applauded, not belittled. How many other 16-year-olds would have had the resolve to give up on a dream that they had worked toward for their entire lives in order to not violate their religious and moral beliefs?

Northrup’s 15 minutes of fame may soon be over, but I hope Reilly and others in sports learned an important lesson from Northrup: In the face of adversity, you should always do what you think is right, no matter what anyone else or any cynic may say about you.