Bartlett village board to vote on midget wrestling Tuesday
The saga surrounding a Bartlett's bar plan to host the midget wrestling show “Half Pint Brawlers” may read like “War and Peace,” but it could finally have a resolution next week.
Last month, the village's plan commission put a choke hold on Bannerman's Sports Grill request for a permit allowing a little people wrestling event that would be recorded for the Spike TV network.
The commission rejected the request after residents submitted a petition with 106 signatures opposing the event on grounds it would embarrass Bartlett and bring too much traffic to the area off Route 59 and Stearns Road.
But unwilling concede defeat, Bannerman's owner Murray Friedman submitted his own petition to village officials last week, this one containing nearly 800 signatures in support of the show.
And now the village board appears leaning toward approving the Nov. 23 event.
“Everyone likes different stuff,” said Village President Michael Kelly, who supports the plan even though he's not interested in attending the event. “Who am I to say this is wrong, that you shouldn't do it?”
The village board is scheduled to vote on the permit Tuesday.
Steve Richardson, a wrestler who stands 4-feet, 4-inches tall, weighs about 150 pounds and goes by the name “Puppet the Psycho Dwarf,” appeared before village trustees last week seeking approval for the event. Richardson told trustees he has a family to support and he's proud of the work he does with his fellow brawlers.
“I didn't know anything about him,” Kelly said. “But to me, he was very articulate, and he seemed like an intelligent man.”
Objectors claim the wrestlers' image isn't right for Bartlett. They oppose the violence and said the participants – and fans – are unsavory. The brawlers perform similar moves a crowd would see at other professional wrestling events with full-sized wrestlers.
Friedman said residents didn't understand the nature of the performance, a scripted show that could be customized depending on the venue. He said he'd ask the wrestlers to tone down their Bartlett show, omitting the more over-the-top antics.
Kelly praised Friedman, saying he's one of the most civic-minded business owners in the village. He noted that Friedman has been creative during the difficult economic times. Last year he proposed hosting mixed-martial arts bouts, but the plan failed after many of the same residents objected.
“Several of his ideas haven't been accepted,” Kelly said. “So he's dropped them, and he hasn't pressed them and made them into a federal case, which I admire.”
Kelly added that if business owners continually have their ideas shot down by the board, they may elect to take their business elsewhere.
Friedman said he respects those objecting to his plan and, after last week's meeting, even shook hands with the husband of Rochelle Prybylski, one of the residents who circulated petitions against the wrestling show.
“I'm pretty confident that it will be 6-0,” Friedman said of the upcoming board vote.
Some little people e-mailed the village and said midget wrestling enforces stereotypes and advised the village board to reject Bannerman's plan. They also object to the term “midget,” calling it derogatory. The wrestlers, including Richardson, say they should be free to work in any field they choose.
The permit would also allow Bannerman's to host live radio remotes from the bar. The bar is popular with sports fans – especially Blackhawks supporters – and could be attractive to the Score 670 AM or ESPN 1000 AM.