Iowa’s Austin DeSanto to be held out of Parade of All-Americans
DeSanto will not participate in the 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Parade of All-Americans after behaving inappropriately toward NCAA media officials.
Mar 18, 2021; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes wrestler Austin Desanto wrestles Little Rock Trojans wrestler Paul Bianchi during the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
March 20, 2021
ST. LOUIS — Senior 133-pounder Austin DeSanto will be held out of the 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Parade of All-Americans after behaving inappropriately toward NCAA media officials, per a Saturday University of Iowa Athletics release.
“Austin DeSanto will not participate in the NCAA Parade of All-Americans or medal stand ceremony Saturday night,” Hawkeye head coach Tom Brands said. “DeSanto behaved inappropriately toward NCAA media officials while exiting the mat this afternoon and after consulting with the NCAA Wrestling Committee and our administration, we have made an institutional decision to withhold him from tonight’s activities.”
No additional information on the incident has been provided. DeSanto did participate in a post-match teleconference with reporters after his 10-6 win in the third-place bout over Virginia Tech’s Korbin Myers.
“My behavior toward the NCAA media officials prior to the post-match interview was wrong and I owe all those involved a sincere apology,” DeSanto said. “My language and behavior was inappropriate and inexcusable. I have spoken with Tom and I understand and agree with the decision.”