In a recent episode of the Doghouse podcast, Jay Rodriguez shared a story about why he was never permitted to train under the highly esteemed coach John Danaher.

During his senior year in high school, Rodriguez contracted impetigo, a common and treatable skin infection.
And, at that time, Nick Rodriguez – Jay’s brother – was training with Danaher in New York.

When Danaher asked Nick about Jay’s wrestling performance, Nick jokingly mentioned that Jay had “herpes” on his face, referring to the impetigo infection.
However, Danaher took the joke seriously – probably thinking that Nick said the truth.

So, when Jay traveled to Puerto Rico to help Nick move and was invited to train with Danaher’s team, things took an unexpected turn – he was suddenly told he could no longer train with the team.

Danaher, who was not present at the time, had learned of Jay’s presence and instructed Gordon Ryan to relay the message that Jay was not allowed to train due to the supposed “herpes” incident.

And even though Jay tried to clarify the misunderstanding by providing medical documentation that confirmed he had impetigo, not herpes, Danaher dismissed it altogether and said it was “false”.

Jay was, naturally, frustrated with the situation…
Noting that Danaher’s own training environments, such as the famous “Blue Basement” in New York, were notorious for bacterial and fungal issues.

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