A wrestling tournament featuring several Midwestern teams in Lynwood over the weekend is being investigated by Cook County officials and got the attention of Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Cook County spokesman Don Bolger said the village of Lynwood has cited the Ho-Chunk Nation Southland Center for hosting the King of the Ring Christmas Bash Saturday and Sunday, which brought hundreds of grapplers from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and other states.

Lynwood Mayor Eugene Williams said the citation did not carry a fine and was more of a warning.

“We reminded them what the governor’s stance is on this and that they were out of line,” Williams said. “It was like ‘we know what it is, we know you are blowing it.’ So, I got apologies from them. That’s all. Simple as that. They blew it.”

The mayor said there will be no more weekend events booked there and said the facility is still in good standing with him.

Pritzker commented about the tournament during his news conference Monday regarding the COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

“I would just say putting parents, teachers and coaches and the kids in danger is a terrible idea,” Pritzker said. “Especially when we are experiencing a number of deaths per day in the United States that is equivalent to a 9/11 every day.

“We need to survive in order for us to take the vaccine. We want all the people that would like to wrestle and all of the people who are coaching and all the parents to be able to get this vaccine so that they can have a great wrestling season when it should be available to them. But they have to stay safe until then. And that’s why we’ve got to follow the mitigations.”

The tournament was run by the Elite Athletic Club, LLC of Lake Station, Indiana, and was originally going to be at the Hammond Sportsplex, but since spectators were not allowed, organizers moved the tournament to Lynwood. A cap of 651 wrestlers were allowed to compete, according to the Elite website.

Southland Center General Manager Annie Byrne had no comment on the citation or the tournament. But she said that since the facility reopened in June, it has gone above and beyond implementing state suggestions and requirements and has been adapting on a daily basis.

“We have done everything the right way,” Byrne said. “I have 25 hand sanitizers all over the place. I’ve taken out the water fountains and put in bottle fillers. We take temperatures. We spent more money that you can imagine on cleaning, masks, all proper (personal protective equipment) products. We have no spectators at all in the building during the week.”

Kevin English of the Elite Athletic Club was the tournament director and did not return calls or email requests Monday, but on the organization’s instructional material for wrestlers and families, it stressed safety measures.

Only two spectators per wrestler were allowed, temperatures were taken and anyone above 99.8 was not allowed to enter, according to the Elite Athletic Club instructions. Face shields or face masks also were required and it was recommended that those age 60 or older or with preexisting conditions should not attend.

In a Facebook post Monday, English praised trainers and security for keeping everyone involved safe. He also praised Southland Center officials.

“Wow to come through in less than a month notice so we can compete, Thank You!!” he wrote.

But Mayor Williams said he had driven by the center over the weekend and saw the number of people.

“They had been making efforts to work within the guidelines and they just had to flat out admit they overdid it. I saw it and I told guys they had to go over there and yell at them,” he said “There were cars from Wisconsin and Ohio. It kind of shows the success of the place that we have going there but it was out of line at this time.”

The state has been in a Tier 3 mode since Nov. 20 and mitigation requirements for sports include a pausing of all indoor sports and recreational activities including youth sports, and indoor participant groups for outdoor practices should be no more than 10 people.

Jeff Vorva is a freelancer