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Women In Sports: Allie Parker, Much More than the ‘Good Girl’ In the Ring

(Photo provided by Allie Parker)

(Photo provided by Allie Parker)

 

She’s the kind of girl you’d bring home to mom and want for your friend, or yourself, unless, of course, you happened to be facing her inside the ring.  In that case, she just might happen to kick your a**.

Who is she?  Her name is Kylee Sutton better known by her ring name ‘Allie Parker’ and if you’re looking for her on Twitter you’ll find her @TheeAllieParker.  Allie’s a professional wrestler who most often has portrayed the ‘girl girl’ in the ring but this interview is not about her wrestling career.  It’s about her story,  the one she wants to tell despite having received some negative backlash from some who think she should shut up about the harsh reality of what it was like to donate a kidney to save her brother’s life.

Would she do it again?  Absolutely.  That’s not the issue here.

(Photo provided by Allie Parker)

(Photo provided by Allie Parker)

Yet, what she wants people to realize is that it’s not necessarily a ‘walk in the park’ and she also would like those in the medical community to know that it would not hurt some if they would take up practicing kindness.

The clinical treatment she received with prodding and poking that was invasive and somewhat rude would, in her opinion, be best dished out inside the ring where it’s okay to treat your opponent as your enemy.

Allie debuted as a professional wrestler in February 2010.  Although she’s been the villain at times, more often than not she’s been the good girl.  According to Allie, people love to see me that way.  “I’m just better as the good girl,” she said.

After years of playing the ‘good girl’ inside the ring, perhaps her greatest act of kindness would come this past year when she decided to donate her kidney to save her brother’s life.  Her brother has Juvenile Diabetes and it’s been difficult for Allie to watch him struggle throughout his life.  Tears well up when she describes how he has had to endure losing his sight.  Those tears continue to flow when she describes how she was asked to donate her kidney to help keep him alive.

“They wanted me to go through all these tests to be sure I was healthy enough to donate my kidney for him.  It’s not that my mom would not do it, or that she was not a match but I was closer to his age and the odds were I would be a more qualified donor,” she explained.

As Allie talked about her relationship with her brother, Ryan, and what it was like to go through the myriad of tests, I could not help but wonder what it would be like to be asked to donate a kidney to save my own brother.  Then again, I wondered what if my brother[s] was asked to donate one to save me.  No doubt it would be a difficult choice for some but for Allie it was not difficult, it was just something she did and did not even think twice about it.

“You’re asked to give part of yourself to save your brother, you do not think about yourself, you simply follow the steps involved and go through the process.  It’s not anything you think about, you just do it.”

Before she was asked to donate her kidney, Allie was living in Los Angeles with her boyfriend.  She had a dedicated fan base and was enjoying her life in the ring and spent most of her time at the gym.  When she got the news in November of 2014 that doctors wanted her to donate her kidney, she made her way back to Vegas.  It would be wonderful if I could report that Allie’s boyfriend behaved just like in the movies and was supportive.  Yet, maybe that sort of stuff only happens in the movies. It would also be awesome if I could share how supportive her employer [besides working in the ring, Allie was working at a gym at the time] was only maybe that sort of stuff only happens in the movies, too.

(Photo provided by Allie Parker)

(Photo provided by Allie Parker)

In fact, Allie did not only get the cold shoulder from her boyfriend but she also got fired from L.A. Fitness because she was going to be away for too long.

“It was not easy for me,” Allie said.  “People tend to think it’s something you do without any consequences and you often hear about the feel good stories but nobody seems to share about the down side.”

It’s not that Allie regrets her choice because she does not regret it but she wants people to know that there is so much to consider and many people are focused on the person who is ill and very often the person who is asked to donate, at least in Allie’s case, is often forgotten by doctors, employers etc.

“It just blew my mind how insensitive people could be,” Allie said, when she described how soon after the surgery she was bleeding profusely from her wound and doctors told her to stop in the next day.  “There is was bleeding and looking at the wound and all they could say is to stop in tomorrow.”

So what about her wrestling career?

“Well, it’s professional wrestling but it’s entertainment and I have managed to continue with my career but my opponents know which side to kick, only sometimes they forget,” Allie said.

Allie Parker grew up in Las Vegas.  She’s a beautiful young woman who plays the good girl in the ring.  She’s not averse to doing something sexy so she will not hesitate to get back into the ring even if that means doing some videos for those who have an insatiable desire to watch women go at it in the ring.

“I used to be more conservative about things, because I grew up a certain way but now I’m more okay with it.  I mean I will do videos and stuff and some people think I am doing porn because I wear short shorts.  It’s not.  Only, if there’s a demand for it and I can rock the shorts in the ring, why not?  I work out a lot and I take care of my body.  In fact, I take great care which is more than I can say for some of the doctors who worked on me after the surgery,” Allie said.

Listening to Allie describe how the one doctor treated her like nothing more than an object as opposed to a patient when he did his best to remedy what she thinks might have been a mistake in the after care which caused her to bleed profusely after the surgery, caused me to remember my own experience with insensitive doctors who tend to forget that they are dealing with human beings.  In my opinion, its good that Allie is taking on sharing about her experience and talking about the way she was treated more so than what have defined as her “heroic act”.

(Photo provided by Allie Parker)

(Photo provided by Allie Parker)

“Lots of people including @Wrestlezone described what I did as heroic and selfless,” Allie said. “Only I think it’s okay to think of yourself sometimes.  If you are going to go through something like this it’s important that you know it will take a lot of courage and strength.”

Allie Parker lost her boyfriend, her job and underwent surgery that will leave her with a scar that she described as, “not very pretty.”  She also has one less kidney.  What she has not lost is her sense of wonder, her amazing desire to excel, and her knack for being the good girl.  Others might be bitter, but she’s not at all.

“I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.  The only difference is, I’d do it knowing it might totally suck at times, but that does not mean it’s not worth it.  It just means that the reality of letting go of your kidney is not anything that should be undertaken without an understanding that it might be difficult,”  Allie said.

Some might have a tough time listening to the harsh reality of how doctors and nurses can be so insensitive or not understand why Allie is focused more about the difficult things that happens such as losing her job, her relationship, and how her future might have been altered when it comes to her chances of great success inside the ring.  Many might think it’s wrong for Allie to share her story in this way and prefer she sugarcoat it.  As for me, I’m hoping that a doctor or nurse might read this article and learn something about how to behave in a more compassionate manner.  I’m also hoping the managers of L.A. Fitness read it and realize that it might have been cooler to help do something special for Allie rather than show her the exit door.  Lastly, it would be sort of awesome if her ex-boyfriend reads it and realizes what a great girl he had and kick himself for not being the good guy she deserved him to be.

Hopefully, when Allie reads it she will have moved on and taken stock in all she gave and all she’s yet to give, and know in her heart that no matter how ugly she views her scar, it’s a reminder of the greatest act of kindness any human being can bestow upon another.

She saved a life and there is nothing she will ever do inside or outside the ring that might ever compare to the amazing generosity she showed.

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Michelle has been a sports writer and analyst for many years. Now, as host of Neutral Court, sponsored by In The Zone, Michelle brings a new sports topic to the debate floor with each episode.
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