Fifteen-year-old Malik Stewart remains puzzled by his instant celebrity. He's been featured on the "Today" show, is an Internet sensation and on Thursday was nominated for a national Wall of Fame — all after losing the biggest wrestling match of his young career.
After his defeat in the 120-pound state title match last week, Malik approached his opponent's father, who is battling cancer in his lungs and chest, and gave him a hug. The crowd at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul cheered as enthusiastically for Malik, a sophomore at Blaine High School, as for his victorious opponent, Mitchell McKee of St. Michael-Albertville.
"I told him to stay strong and congratulated him," Malik said he told Steve McKee. "It wasn't something I planned."
Nor could he foresee the reaction to a gesture that has taken on heavyweight proportions.
Olympic Choices, a two-year-old national program dedicated to developing moral and ethical character in young people, announced Thursday that Malik was its first Wall of Fame nominee. On Monday, the "Today" show ran an 88-second segment on Malik, using still photos taken of the hug that has gone viral.
His story has been published in newspapers coast to coast. The e-mails keep coming.
"I'm shocked," Malik said.
You'd think he had won the state tournament.