All-American Pat Downey Dismissed, Burns All Bridges on Way Out

Yesterday The Open Mat broke the story that Pat Downey had been dismissed from the ISU Wrestling team. The news came from Kevin Jackson, but it isn’t clear whether the dismissal was by Jackson or acting head coach Travis Paulson. Iowa State hasn’t made any further comment on the news, but Downey has been quite active on social media as usual. He started by claiming he found out himself via Twitter.

And with his traditional lack of self awareness, Downey admitted he broke team rules while already serving a suspension until the postseason.

This news brings new perspective to some of Jackson’s comments over the year, such as stressing in January that “A rib injury takes up to six weeks to heal, he’s had six weeks,” saying he had expected Downey to wrestle against Oklahoma. But Downey was worried about a tweaked ankle, and other things.

Going back, it seems like even recruits were getting fed up with his antics.

Last night, Downey lashed out at anyone and everyone involved, including making sure to burn every bridge he could on his way out.

No one from the team has replied to his rants, but former CWC wrestler Deron Winn challenged Downey’s claims that the staff hadn’t done everything they could to help him.

Bottom line is, don't visit Downey’s Twitter right now unless you want to see a wasteland of filth

How Did All This Happen?

We won’t pretend to know all the details of the situation. We do know that Downey has run into both legal and team rule issues before at his prior stops, and Iowa State went out on a limb to bring him in. Since arriving in Ames, the coaching staff seemed to give him plenty of leeway. However, there’s seemed to be a locker room divide over the special treatment he was receiving.

Whether there was a specific “final straw” or just that the interim staff didn’t want to deal with his distractions isn’t currently known. All we know for sure is that Downey blames everyone but himself for the dismissal.

Whats Next for Downey?

Given all his issues over the years, Iowa State was already likely his last chance at the D-1 level even if he was able to graduate and transfer elsewhere. Most likely, Downey will either drop down to NAIA for next season or move on to MMA. We wish him luck in whichever path he chooses to take.