Midgets Can't Wrestle in Missouri Without a License, Says State Agency

By Nicholas Phillips Wed., Oct. 13 2010 at 2:58 PM

So the Extreme Midget Wrestling Federation event slated for Thursday in Cape Girardeau is probably canceled. Yeah.

That's because (according to the Southeast Missourian) the state of Missouri has declared that

little people are athletes, not entertainers, and must follow licensing guidelines for promoters, referees and wrestlers.

Wait -- who's declared this? The Missouri Office of Athletics, whose mission is apparently two-fold: (1) To protect the health and safety of participants in blood and contact sports, and (2) To make sure Daily RFT has as little fun as possible on Thursday nights.
Sure sure, we know the state gov't is holding the line on this one purely out of concern for the safety of the midget wrestlers (it occurs to me I'll never again get to write that sentence). However, the harder Missouri cracks down, the more midget wrestling jobs will move across our state borders.

Don't believe it? Consider the fact that Skyler Ward, a EMWF promoter told a reporter that:

his group doesn't often perform in Missouri because it has more rules than other states, including requiring athlete physicals and blood tests for HIV and hepatitis.

We challenge congressional candidates Tommy Sowers and Jo Ann Emerson to explain to voters how southeast Missouri will stop hemorrhaging midget wrestling jobs. Go ahead, think about it. We can wait. Until Thursday.