About 90 percent of wrestling holds involve grabbing the upper body or pelvic area. But a boy who forfeits may lose the chance to wrestle for a medal, and may even see his dream of becoming conference champion, or making the state tournament, evaporate. To make matters worse, boys who forfeit are generally taking a loss in a match they could expect to win. For while a few exceptional girls can compete effectively against boys in their weight class, most lose quickly to male opponents. Our society tends to frame the debate over mixed-sexed wrestling in the familiar terms of physical safety and legal rights.
Critics frequently note, for example, that the practice poses health risks for adolescent females.
Teenage boys have significantly greater muscle mass than girls, and can injure them when wrenching their joints, or lying heavily on top of them. On the other hand, mixed-sexed wrestling creates legal risks for males. Boys who wrestle girls, or practice with female teammates, must touch them in ways that would constitute illegal sexual harassment in any other setting. In our litigious society, coaches take a risk whenever they have close physical contact with young female athletes. Wrestling officials also incur risks at mixed-sex matches, since they must break holds by thrusting in their hands near girls' chests or crotches.