Kansas City SME NAC 2019 - L16 - Ari SImmons v Curtis McDowald

[@MoustacheFriday15]

also "Curtis! You're gonna get black carded!" Essene: "You're not wrong" might be the best ref clapback I've ever heard

[@grant4360]

Back in 2015 or 2016, McDowald was fencing Zeyad Elashry at a NAC and he was down 12-13. I watched him tear and break his body cord to get the point taken away and the ref missed it unfortunately. One of the worst attitudes in the sport. I was able to beat him in teams because I knew he would want to go for a back flick to finish because he enjoys showing off. And as soon as I heard about the pink masks at the olympics, I am not saying it was not warranted because I do not know Alen Hadzic, but I knew it was Curtis McDowald that came up with that because he is a giant self-righteous prick.

[@1911wood]

I wish he didn’t have that USA on his leg. This guy is an embarrassment.

[@danyu8330]

"he looks pretty zoned out actually"

[@CyrusofChaos]

Dan Yu he was practicing his tech while an argument was happening!

[@billnye2395]

And now off to the comments to see what the experts think!

[@londiniumarmoury7037]

Plot twist, fencing instructors watch youtube videos about fencing.

[@Zander-jd9kp]

I have the utmost respect for Curtis's fencing, but he really needs to learn to cool it when the ref clearly has no patience for his BS.

[@saber1epee0]

Eh... A lot of Refs need to remove the epee that's firmly planted in their arses...

[@A_Moustached_Sock]

@@saber1epee0 Do explain. Im not familiar with Olympic fencing ruleset. Is Curtis being treated unfairly? I watched a fight from him in 2017 and did not see this level of unsportsmanlike conduct. Only in more recently especially with an article done by a former baseball broadcaster pushing the race narrative.

[@d3l1c10uspancak3s]

I do agree Curtis has HORRIBLE sportmanship, but yeah... A lot of his stigma is simply from his race. He wouldn't be hated this much if he were a white person. He constantly gets stigma, but then everyone seemingly forgot Alen Hadzic's rape accusation debacles in less than a year, which I personally believe is far worse than having bad sportsmanship.

[@MoustacheFriday15]

It's almost like Curt could've won if he wasn't throwing a fit lol

[@grant4360]

I wanna see his reaction after he does get a black card

[@jamescanedo6398]

@@grant4360 you see what just happened in pan-ams?

[@grant4360]

@@jamescanedo6398 What happened? I haven't done much of anything fencing wise in a while, or kept up with it. I got an email saying Hadzic was permanently banned for presumably being a dick, but I also heard some SA claims against him as well a while ago. I dunno though.

[@christopherbartlett8100]

​@grant4360 did you see it? Look it up it happened. And he hurt the American epee team

[@grant4360]

@@christopherbartlett8100 yes i saw- entire american epee team disqualified, meaning no US Epee Olympic team in 2024

[@poshnomolbralpku8684]

The lack of sportsmanship by McDowald is absolutely appalling really unfortunate

[@YouLoveMrFriendly]

I fear American fencing will go the way of the NBA, full of disrespectful trash players.

[@billnye2395]

YouLoveMrFriendly oh never mind you are racist

[@paddymurphy5572]

Voices an opinion, racist. Lol, aren’t you brilliant.

[@weedywet]

@@YouLoveMrFriendly I was actually going to sayI hope fencing never turns into hockey

[@YouLoveMrFriendly]

@@weedywet , who watches hockey? LOL

[@nfpnone8248]

I’ve always been shocked how Curtis could brute force his way to win with very little technique and skill!

[@Dancingtuna]

Curtis would've made an 100-0 comeback if they gave him that medical

[@micahdragon4445]

😂😭

[@albionparrot5607]

I think the whole team was removed due to his immaturity and lack of self control. After the match he started kicking and throwing things around the arena.

[@h0rn3d_h1st0r1an]

this bout aged well.

[@СережаКузнецов-ж3з]

My favorite match

[@roycarter6235]

Really!!! why was he not marched off the piste for that childish behaviour? Simmons kept his cool and was never going to lose.

[@CyrusofChaos]

Roy Carter not necessarily: without those two red cards it would've been dead even 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@paddymurphy5572]

@Cyrusofchaos do you think he should have been black carded. When he shoved that guy I cannot believe he wasn’t thrown out.

[@eddiepretzel1501]

LETS GO ARIIIIII

[@JH-nb7qb]

Fencing classic 101

[@CyrusofChaos]

@@JH-nb7qb yep! Very normal bout

[@The_Gallowglass]

Just think, if he could keep his cool, and chill he'd be a great fencer.

[@christopherbartlett8100]

Are you saying that if he was a better fencer he'd be a better fencer? Fencing IS in your head.. he tries to make his opponents mad but turns out his temper is his weakness

[@Dwang2011]

bro ari simmons is at my club rn

[@tomsimpson5317]

He should have gotten a few black cards

[@meridien52681]

Judge in the way!!!

[@walterdavies6434]

fail to sh0w him kick over the scoreboard table

[@walterdavies6434]

brittney griner part 2

[@johnmajor4173]

Whatever matches I have seen Curtis has lost all of them 😅😅

[@James_ART_72000]

Shes a good ref

[@tanjajohnson4659]

McDowald is living proof that you can take the rat out of the hood, but you can't take the hood out of the rat. He is a terrible sportsman, he cheats (or attempts to cheat) every time he gets behind. His blatant false starts show his disregard for the sport, the rules, and his team.

[@andreasalbarosa7247]

In 13 years of fencing I’ve never seen such a disrespectful conduct as the one of Curtis in a competition (and in cases like this in Italy are way less indulgent). Also his fencing is not the best ( wtf was that faint at the foot?). From Italy.

[@alexander_liu_]

What’s the second red card for

[@poshnomolbralpku8684]

The guy in the video said he asked for a medical then he went to stand on guard anyway so not sure probably got it for being annoying

[@JeffBorck]

@@poshnomolbralpku8684 If a fencer claims an injury that's clearly false, the card is for interruption of bout for claimed injury not confirmed by doctor.

[@SamtheShrooman]

Hey Alex lol

[@SamtheShrooman]

What are the odds lol

[@alexanderdewinter7429]

3:50

[@craigvandevooren2341]

I thought saber fencers were bad . . . . . What a soft little baby. Does he have certified mental health issues?

[@christopherbartlett8100]

He is an annoying baby, I really hope he doesn't embarrass the United States in Tokyo

[@Dookieryan]

No he did it a year and a half later at a pan am lmao

[@christopherbartlett8100]

@@Dookieryan yup

[@kohweizhebenjaminhci4845]

Clown

[@saber1epee0]

Just to side-track all of the BS Curtis-Haters... Your rejection of athleticism and emotion is exactly what makes Epee nearly unwatchable at a professional level. Sabre is actual athletic skill and on top of that incredibly entertaining.

[@saber1epee0]

I fence Epee and love it, (though I grew up with sabre) But I would rather watch JO Qualifiers in sabre than Olympic epee, and it's all because of gatekeeping old-guard nonsense like this

[@byrne8509]

Sabre is the biggest joke out of all the weapons.

[@donaldbadowski6048]

Being a jerk to the ref is a bore. Curtis does this to himself. And now he's done it to his team.

[@christopherbartlett8100]

​@@byrne8509exactly right

[@jarrarwinks8470]

I fence sabre, I can get behind a little facing away from opponents and letting out a scream, or small celebrations, but Curtis is just being an ass here, and this is coming from someone who is fine with a club-mate who literally jumped super high and screamed “YEAH BOOOOOOOY!” At a tournament since it’s not harmful, and was done with no malicious intent. Curtis is all about getting a reaction, and showing he is better, but in doing so he is way to dramatic about it, and is actively malicious towards the opponents. My favorite example of fencers who celebrate but are also not rude about it is the Korean sabre team, all of them celebrate and are sometimes loud and dramatic, but when the red tells them to stop or take it down a notch they do, they also are all able to celebrate but go back to behaving fast. As much as I love how Curtis fences, he ultimately is brining his team, his reputation, and also his ability down, he is pissed off often because of things started by his behavior, which causes him to loose when if he just stayed more calm and even if he kept celebrating without getting upset or rude he would have probably won due to having a clearer mind.

[@A_Moustached_Sock]

Im sad to say this was one of the most pathetic displays of sportsmanlike conduct Ive seen. Both parties yelling and screaming, granted one doing so more than the other, is just ridiculous. McDowald is a competent fighter from what I have seen, more noticeably one I saw in 2017 between him and James Kaull Division 1 Finals. Maybe it was edited out but I dont recall this level of behavior there. But then again, I have always disagreed with trash talking and viewing your opponent in a competition as an enemy. I dont have as much experience as a rapiersist and absolute zero experience in Olympic fencing. However, I would love to have the opportunity to face McDowald in a sparring match. He seems like a competent fighter, however he needs to learn that this behavior impresses no one and should not act shocked when he gets called out on it. Ari should get carded the same when he yells however as well. This has nothing to do with race as many like to spin this. If you act like a child you will be treated like one. Plain and simple.

[@user-qx6pd6om2j]

Fyi screaming after a point is somewhat a part of the culture of fencing, though usually you face away from the opponent when you do it. Obviously it might be a little silly to scream this early into a match but it's a thing.

[@A_Moustached_Sock]

@user-qx6pd6om2j Not like that in any of the fencing I have seen nor have done. There are sounds made upon striking. Not outright yelling such as that after an exchange. Maybe I just havent seen those clubs where its prevalent.

[@bigtoosh]

Have you been to a NAC? People scream. It's like half of the sport. Edit: Sorry, I wrote this before reading that you have never done olympic fencing. In Olympic Fencing, screaming is expected. It's to signify your confidence that you won the point, and also it's really fun.@@A_Moustached_Sock

[@bigtoosh]

Yes, it's because you've never done Olympic Fencing. Maybe they don't scream in your sport but screaming is half the sport in Olympic Fencing@@A_Moustached_Sock

[@A_Moustached_Sock]

@bigtoosh I have watched bouts of olympic fencing and spoken to others who do the sport. Screaming loudly at the audience after you have won in your bout is not at all "half of olympic fencing" from anything I have seen or others I have spoken with who participate in the sport. Now making a sound upon the moment of impact is something they do yes. This was not being done in this video. McDowald screams almost proudly after the engagement has finished almost like hes hyping himself up. Funnily enough he is shown to even get warnings from the ref to stop doing so. Interesting if this is "half the sport" why are many practitioners of this sport apalled by his actions as well as the ref giving him warnings to stop doing that?

[@Majistymills]

Dang why so many haters in the comments , never wanna see a black man succeed

[@Stuttful]

It’s just a respect thing really. I’m a big fan of daryl homer as a fencer and he doesn’t get this kind of response because he doesn’t act like this on the strip.

[@ernestkhalimov7407]

if black men acted out like mcdowald, then no i dont want to see black men succeed

[@crich95]

@@ernestkhalimov7407 too bad - he's going to the Olympics!

[@christopherbartlett8100]

@@crich95 yah and we'll see if he embarrasses us by acting like an asshole.

[@grepthis2000]

@@crich95 Going to the Olympics affirms Curtis' position as a top ranked competitor in the US. Let's see what medals he comes back with. Then we'll know how big a frog he is in a big pond.

[@ristianoconaldo2118]

I know Curtis shows a lot of attitude but cmon can’t that ref be a little patient?!? Like what the actual fuck he could’ve won, if he cooled down a little and is that ref just didn’t red card him every 2 secs

[@Dookieryan]

The ref was as patient as he deserved. He got too much patience for far too long in the states then managed to get team USA men’s epee kicked out of a pan am. More US refs should respond like essene did

[@LarryB-inFL]

Fencing has become so far removed from anything resembling real fencing as to be laughable. The idea that lightly touching the other guy is "enough" is flat out silly. So if "real fencing" is not the point, then what is?

[@CyrusofChaos]

Lacrosse used to be a violent sport in which people dying was common. Fencing used to be a dueling sport used to settle feuds between nobles in which people were also killed. I shouldn't be the one to have to say this but people dying or even getting injured isn't good for the sport. So they were updated in a modern way to try to preserve the essence of the sport but make them fun instead of dangerous. BTW, tennis, baseball, basketball, etc have no practical applications at all. It's a sport, let's not read into it too much

[@filidino06]

@@CyrusofChaosthis is actually a criminal ratio oh my god

[@christopherbartlett8100]

You obviously don't fence. Lightly touching someone with a sharp epee was literally how you would go about killing someone.

[@jarrarwinks8470]

It doesn’t take much force to kill someone with a sword you know. Especially to draw blood like in a duel.

[@alexanderdewinter7429]

7:23

[@ristianoconaldo2118]

I know Curtis shows a lot of attitude but cmon can’t that ref be a little patient?!? Like what the actual fuck he could’ve won, if he cooled down a little and if that ref just didn’t red card him every 2 secs

[@You-fools]

You gotta show some self control and respect for your opponent in this sport fortunately. The sort of petty actively malicious timewasting tactics Curtis gets up to have no home in the sport and are rightfully called out when noticed. If you're confident in your skills and strategy you don't need to pull out tricks that detract from the game.