Spencer Lee finished his Iowa wrestling career as one of the most decorated performers in Hawkeye history. Unfortunately, his final season ended with a stunning defeat at the hands of Purdue’s Matt Ramos in the national semifinals.

Following the loss, Lee medically forfeited from the remaining consolation matches, effectively ending his collegiate career. That decision prompted some fans to question Lee’s overall health during the loss to Ramos.

In a recent interview for Barstool Wrestling, Lee put that narrative to bed. He’s not interested in any excuses for his defeat and said Ramos deserves all the credit for simply out-wrestling Lee in the matchup.

“I saw a lot of people say I lost because I was hurt. That’s just not true, I got beat,” said Lee. “There (are) no if’s, and’s, or but’s, that is just the sport. I hate when people try to make excuses for me on why I lost when I got out-wrestled and beat. They’re taking credit away from someone who deserves credit.”

Lee also had a message for people that were more interested in talking about his decision to forfeit out of the tournament instead of congratulating Ramos.

“What I want to say to people is instead of maybe hating on me for medically forfeiting or getting out of the tournament, why not go give love to Matt Ramos for beating me?” asked Lee. “The kid obviously deserves the praise of making the NCAA finals… People are just too busy finding ways to shove down people and not give him credit, and that’s unfair to him.”