I think one of the biggest problems in our society is we don’t respect each other’s opinion especially when they are differing opinions. We have become a society that sees things only in black and white, either you are with someone or you are against them.
My college years at The Ohio State University are a bit of a blur now, but there are certain things, nuggets of valuable information that are always in the back of my mind when I am dealing with a sensitive subject I lean on.
One of those things is trying to understand where the other person is coming from even if you don’t agree with them. When I look at the totality of everything that went on during the Mayweather-Pacquiao promotion a couple of things became clear.
Certain people in the media were just using Mayweather-Pacquiao for their own personal gain, I don’t think they care if Mayweather beats women or is a horrible person, they just wanted to be at the fight so they kissed Mayweather’s ass. Others who have rarely covered boxing in their life, just jumped on the let’s act like we didn’t know Mayweather did all these things years ago bandwagon to bring attention to themselves.
I know Michelle Beadle doesn’t fall into either of those categories. The reason being is well before Mayweather-Pacquiao weekend, she has spoken out against Mayweather the moment she found out about his domestic violence history, so unlike certain other people in the media, who just one day decided to speak about, Beadle has spoken about domestic abuse by athletes Mayweather included for a long time.
If Triple H wants to be Mayweather’s friend that is fine. I have no issues with that, but for Beadle being affiliated with the WWE would be hypocritical and she is taking a stand against that. Here is a portion of why she made that decision.
Which brings me back to the WWE. I’m a fan of Triple H. As a wrestler, he was a big part of many of my memories, even as recently as this year’s Wrestlemania. As an Executive Vice President, he’s successfully led the charge in building the WWE’s farm system, NXT. WWE proudly lends its name and backing to Susan G. Komen, Make-A-Wish, and Boys and Girls Clubs, to name a few. They’ve been deeply involved in building an Anti-Bullying campaign, Be A Star. And just last year, Stephanie McMahon strengthened the company’s domestic violence policies: “We have a zero tolerance policy for domestic abuse. Upon arrest for such misconduct, our superstars are immediately suspended and should there be a conviction, that superstar or diva would be terminated.” That’s from the Wellness Policy that applies to all WWE talent. Imagine my confusion when, during the maelstrom of the weekend, I noticed a few tweets that may have, at any other time, gone unnoticed. Tweets that caused me to question my support of the WWE and the man who sits near the top of the company’s food chain. “So why now,” some have wondered. Because sometimes it takes a little longer to see the light.
Triple H has continued to display his relationship with Floyd Mayweather through social media, the most recent being a hearty congratulations to the boxer following his victory Saturday night. It’s not my place to say what one should and should not do on Twitter, especially during personal time. However the era in which we’re living is rapidly changing. And the lines between one’s corporate and private personas have blurred. Triple H has over two million followers. He’s one of the faces of a company that depends on a healthy public image. I realize he doesn’t speak for everyone, but does he realize that when he shows support to a convicted batterer, friend or not, it can effectively damage so much goodwill that the company is admittedly doing? It’s hard to sell a message of anti-bullying while slapping the ultimate bully on the back. I was a fan. A big fan. But it’s time to use my voice.
Media people have the power to sway opinions, so what you want is sincerity in whatever they are talking about. One of the problems with the Skiptizing of media, is that ironically it has more of a WWE feel. When I listen to some in media speak it is like listening to The Rock or Ric Flair and it makes me question their motivations.
Even if you disagree with Beadle on anything, I don’t feel she is being insincere about her feelings on Mayweather or domestic abusers. I don’t feel she is doing it to enhance her career or attention whoring, I think she honestly has these feelings about certain people and she speaks out about them. Part of what I have said for weeks is media can’t be hypocrites, you can’t say go after Mayweather, then accept Triple H’s ringside seats, so in that regard Beadle has shown she isn’t a hypocrite.
But is it hypocritical that Mayweather caused the break in her fandom? Here is just one nugget of the WWE’s dealings with a domestic abusers, you might be familiar with the wrestler.
On September 13, 2000, Austin married WWE wrestler Debra Marshall. On June 15, 2002 police were called to their residence in San Antonio. They found a hysterical and bruised Marshall. Austin had left the house and was asked by police not to return. On August 14, 2002, Austin was arrested and charged with domestic abuse. He pled no contest on November 25, 2002 and was given a year’s probation, a $1,000 fine, and ordered to carry out 80 hours of community service. Marshall would later claim that Austin was a steroid user and this incident was the result of roid rage. Austin filed for divorce from Marshall on July 22, 2002 and the divorce was finalized on February 5, 2003.On June 29, 2007, Marshall told Fox News that Austin beat her three times. She also stated that WWE put a gag order on her so she would not reveal that Stone Cold hit her, as it would cost the company millions of dollars. The WWE did not respond to her allegations.
The WWE has been accused of being racists, sexiest and has employed many criminals on their roster for many years, so it is fair to wonder why was a Triple H tweet to Mayweather that broke the camel’s back. Maybe that was just the last straw, sometimes you just get fed up. Was this something building or was this all about Mayweather?
Beadle often times retweets some of the more vile comments she gets on social media, I wish she wouldn’t do that because it isn’t a good reflection of society. The majority of people on social media don’t know how to respectfully disagree with someone without Tweeting like Andrew Dice Clay.
My hope is that Beadle and everyone for that matter understands that we all see things in different ways, doesn’t mean anyone is right or wrong, just we all make our own decisions and have our own voice.
Sometimes that means we are going to butt heads or not come to the same conclusion, but as I was told many years ago, the mirror never lies, you have to be comfortable with the decisions you make and if you are happy looking at yourself in the mirror, that is all that matters.
I made a decision a couple of years ago, to stop watching 1st Take after they banned Jalen Rose for calling out Skip Bayless on lying about his high school basketball career. I wouldn’t support a show that did that, since it is my job, when something happens on the show that is newsworthy, I cover it, but I’ll never watch the show again. I understand making personal decisions to move away from something you use to like. In general, I have no feelings about athletes, I have detached myself from that, but I am human and there are certain athletes I simply don’t like for various reasons, but my job in my opinion isn’t to bashed them to constantly, but it is to report the news. If the news is negative, then so be it, but if it positive I am going to report that as well. When you work in media you see and hear a lot of things, the public knows nothing about, but you make your own decisions on how you use your voice.
No one is going to stop me from being a WWE fan, it is my opinion that Mayweather and Triple H friendship has nothing to do with my enjoyment of the sport. No different from James Kirkland’s multiple arrests won’t stop me from enjoying his fight with Canelo or Ben Roethlisberger multiple attempts of strong arming women won’t stop me from watching Steelers vs. Patriots opening night.
I don’t connect what people do off the field, with my enjoyment of what they do on the field, but I don’t have a problem with people who do as long as they are consistent with it.
Only the mirror knows if they are.