Our organization, the National Organization of Short Statured Adults, wishes to make a formal statement with regards to an insult made by Mr. Barry Bonds. directed at Bob Costas. After viewing an episode of "Costas Now" on Wednesday (07/25), Mr Bonds responded to remarks made by Curt Schilling and Patrick Arnold, as well as Mr Costas, by referring to Mr Costas as a "little midget man who knows nothing about baseball."
While Mr Costas apparently didn't take too much offense by it but responded to Mr Bonds in kind, NOSSA finds the comment made by Mr. Bonds inappropriate and offensive. We at NOSSA are fed up with the public insults and in our quest for equaity demand an apology from Mr. Bonds at the minumum. Insulting another minority would at least warrant an apology, if not a suspension. They wouldn't have to put up with it, so why should we?
Respectfully,
Christopher A. Hamre
Vice President
NOSSA
Comment by Chairman Campisi:
It seems perfectly acceptable in our society to disrespect people because they are shorter than others. You are absolutely right Chris. Had this athlete made a similar comment about a man's race, religion, or even sexuality, there likely would have been fierce outrage and public condemnation of the remarks. Heightism remains the ignored prejudice.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Sunday, July 15, 2007
`Little runt' grew up to become a champion
When Fremont Coach Bobby Soto saw Boris Novachkov for the first time in 2003, the Bulgarian native weighed 85 pounds dripping wet.
But Soto could see that the slender youngster was one of the most naturally gifted wrestlers he had ever encountered.
Four years and 40 pounds later, Novachkov is graduating from Fremont High as the most decorated wrestler in school history, with two state championships under his belt and a scholarship to Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo in hand.
"He was a little runt when he first came to the room," Soto said with a laugh. "We joked that I used to be able to control him with my index finger. Now I have to give everything I have and use my whole body."
Novachkov was a national freestyle champion in Bulgaria before moving to Sunnyvale in 2003 with his parents and older brother Filip, the 2005 Mercury News wrestler of the year who won a state title in 2006 and is on scholarship at Cal-Poly SLO.
But as a freshman, Boris was too light and didn't earn a spot on the varsity because Filip wrestled at 103 pounds.
"We teased him, saying he went from Bulgarian national champion to a junior-varsity league champion when he came to America," said Soto, who coaches Fremont with Erik Duus.
But the teasing didn't last long. In summer 2005, Boris won national junior titles in freestyle and Greco-Roman.
"It was a little frustrating not being able to compete as a freshman, and everyone joked with me about it," Novachkov said.
"But when I won those national titles, I knew my time would come."
He followed that by cruising to the CIF state title at 103 pounds, the same year Filip won at 119 and teammate Greg Crane won at 160.
"That was my best memory - it was special because we all won it together," Boris said.
When Novachkov moved up three weight classes to 125 pounds for his senior season, some thought he wouldn't have the strength to compete there. But he dispelled those notions in December by winning the Walsh Ironman Invitational in Ohio, considered one of the toughest tournaments in the nation.
"I want to win at everything I do, whether I'm running or wrestling or playing any sport," Novachkov said. "I just don't like the feeling of losing."
He defeated Los Gatos' Naveed Bagheri 8-1 for his second consecutive Central Coast Section title, then rolled through the competition at the state meet, beating Freedom's David Prado 7-1 to win the title.
"Boris' balance is amazing, and he knows how to use hips so well, he is never in a bad position," Bagheri said. "I learned something and came out better for it every time I wrestled him."
Now Novachkov is embarking on a new phase of his wrestling career, and many think the sky is the limit.
"Boris wins because of his mentality - he has goals that are far beyond those of regular high school kids," Soto said. "He has Olympic aspirations - he is looking at the highest accomplishment you can make in wrestling."
First he will work toward his goal of winning at Cal Poly.
"Boris is so technically advanced, nobody can really do anything against him," Cal Poly Coach John Azevedo said. "He'll need to get used to the physical nature of college wrestling, but I think both he and Filip can become NCAA champions. They are going to make an impact"
But Soto could see that the slender youngster was one of the most naturally gifted wrestlers he had ever encountered.
Four years and 40 pounds later, Novachkov is graduating from Fremont High as the most decorated wrestler in school history, with two state championships under his belt and a scholarship to Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo in hand.
"He was a little runt when he first came to the room," Soto said with a laugh. "We joked that I used to be able to control him with my index finger. Now I have to give everything I have and use my whole body."
Novachkov was a national freestyle champion in Bulgaria before moving to Sunnyvale in 2003 with his parents and older brother Filip, the 2005 Mercury News wrestler of the year who won a state title in 2006 and is on scholarship at Cal-Poly SLO.
But as a freshman, Boris was too light and didn't earn a spot on the varsity because Filip wrestled at 103 pounds.
"We teased him, saying he went from Bulgarian national champion to a junior-varsity league champion when he came to America," said Soto, who coaches Fremont with Erik Duus.
But the teasing didn't last long. In summer 2005, Boris won national junior titles in freestyle and Greco-Roman.
"It was a little frustrating not being able to compete as a freshman, and everyone joked with me about it," Novachkov said.
"But when I won those national titles, I knew my time would come."
He followed that by cruising to the CIF state title at 103 pounds, the same year Filip won at 119 and teammate Greg Crane won at 160.
"That was my best memory - it was special because we all won it together," Boris said.
When Novachkov moved up three weight classes to 125 pounds for his senior season, some thought he wouldn't have the strength to compete there. But he dispelled those notions in December by winning the Walsh Ironman Invitational in Ohio, considered one of the toughest tournaments in the nation.
"I want to win at everything I do, whether I'm running or wrestling or playing any sport," Novachkov said. "I just don't like the feeling of losing."
He defeated Los Gatos' Naveed Bagheri 8-1 for his second consecutive Central Coast Section title, then rolled through the competition at the state meet, beating Freedom's David Prado 7-1 to win the title.
"Boris' balance is amazing, and he knows how to use hips so well, he is never in a bad position," Bagheri said. "I learned something and came out better for it every time I wrestled him."
Now Novachkov is embarking on a new phase of his wrestling career, and many think the sky is the limit.
"Boris wins because of his mentality - he has goals that are far beyond those of regular high school kids," Soto said. "He has Olympic aspirations - he is looking at the highest accomplishment you can make in wrestling."
First he will work toward his goal of winning at Cal Poly.
"Boris is so technically advanced, nobody can really do anything against him," Cal Poly Coach John Azevedo said. "He'll need to get used to the physical nature of college wrestling, but I think both he and Filip can become NCAA champions. They are going to make an impact"
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Will Joining NOSSA Make It Worse?
NOSSA does not believe that short statured people should stay silent about heightism. How can we expect anything to change if we don't make people aware that there is a problem? We may be laughed at and ridiculed for discussing heightism. It takes guts to stand up for yourself and others. This is not for the faint of heart. But we believe that this is a cause worth fighting for. We at NOSSA believe that you will discover much about yourself in this journey and the difference you make will inspire others. You just might find that you've made a lasting positive impact on the world. http://www.nossaonline.org/joinus.html
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