Speaking to the outlet, Brendan justified his decision saying, “It’s so physical, physically close. I don’t think that’s really appropriate with a young lady. It’s also very aggressive and I’m not really, I guess, comfortable with that.”
He added: “There is something that I really do find problematic about the idea of wrestling with a girl, and a part of that does come from my faith and my belief.
“And a part of that does come from how I was raised to treat women as well as maybe from different experiences and things.
“I don’t think that I am looking at them as not equal. I am saying that they are women and that is different than being men, because I do believe that men and women are different and we are made differently.
“But I still believe that women are of equal value to men. I don’t think that seeing men and women as different [opposes] the idea of equality.”
Both his opponents, Rios and Gallegos, made history after becoming the first females to place at the tournament. Rios placed fourth and Gallegos placed fifth.
Speaking to The Greeley Tribune, Rios commented the match Brendan forfeited and said she understood his decision and respected it but questioned why any wrestler, of any gender, would decide to forfeit in the state tournament after making it so far.
“This whole time that I’ve wrestled, it’s just me trying to prove a point that I am just a wrestler,” she told the Washington Post at the time.
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