I don’t know Jay Briscoe. My few interactions with him have only come at the bar after Ring of Honor shows. He’s been nothing but great with every fan and has always treated them respectfully face-to-face based on everything I’ve seen and heard. As a wrestler, he’s been one of ROH’s best and most loyal. This is a man who’s bled buckets… hell, he was bleeding and clotting during one match against Samoa Joe. He and his brother advanced the art of tag team wrestling. No other team over the last 10 years has come even close to innovating and putting on the quality of matches as they have in North American. One could easily see his recent world title as a lifetime achievement award and thank you for all of his hard work for Ring of Honor.
Two tweets he posted early Wednesday morning caused an incredible stir among wrestling fans. Just so we’re clear, I want to show exactly what he said so there’s no miscommunication or misinterpretation through paraphrasing.
The Delaware Senate passed a bill yesterday that allows same sex couples to get married. If that makes you happy, then congratulations!!!!!!
— Jay Briscoe (@jaybriscoe84) May 8, 2013
… try and teach my kids that there’s nothing wrong with that and I’ll fucking shoot you
— Jay Briscoe (@jaybriscoe84) May 8, 2013
All I could think of when I first read this was “What an idiot.” Snap judgment. First thought. It doesn’t matter to me what Jay Briscoe’s beliefs are when it concerns hot button political issues. What I do care about is the dramatic effect his words can have on people’s perception of Ring of Honor and independent wrestling. This isn’t the first time Jay has made homophobic comments, but for the first time, Jay felt it was necessary to extend his commentary into violence by discussing the possibility of shooting someone if they dare taught his child about celebrating and embracing other lifestyles which are dissimilar than the Briscoes. It would be easy to think he was kidding, easy to say he wasn’t serious. I myself question how serious Jay actually was.
Despite my not taking him seriously, I take serious issue with the suggestion his comments should merely be written off, and we all need to stop being offended. We live in an era where thousands of LGBTQ teenagers are committing suicide every year because of certain belief systems. They’re having identity issues with their families and trying to gain acceptance in a world where what is said in a religious text is regarded as more important than biology. Words mean everything, especially when they’re written. If I’m conversation with someone, and say something “I’m going to kill you if you don’t get this done,” then they’ll know my exact tone and context. I promise you they’ll get I was kidding. If I post something to a PWP written on Twitter about killing them if they don’t get a column done, they can’t get my tone. Maybe they’ll get my sarcasm. Maybe not. I feel an obligation to watch what I say in social media and immediately clear up misunderstandings if they exist.
I’m ultimately just the editor for Pro Wrestling Ponderings, which means zilch in the grand scheme of things. Jay Briscoe is the champion for Ring of Honor, a company owned by a conglomerate of television stations that is publicly traded on NASDAQ. He has a responsibility to be the ambassador of the company whether he likes it or not, meaning he has an obligation not to exhibit as much ignorance as he has on Twitter. For me, tweet number two is the greater offense and what will ultimately determine punishment from Ring of Honor. Given recent tragic events across the country and the discussion about gun control, I can’t see Jay’s comments going over well with people. I’m not saying what the laws should be since that’s above my pay grade and not the point of the article, but saying what Jay said about shooting people is just plain dumb. The reality is Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin are gun owners too, but they don’t shove their ownership (or threaten to shoot people) in the faces of people to the point where people would have a hard time being offended with something they would say.
As far as the homophobia angle, let’s look at this from a number standpoint. Depending on which poll number you look at, as many as 53 percent of Americans now approve of gay marriage. This is a dramatic change from even 10 years when support was around 33 percent. Interestingly, once you shift the polling to those under 30, the number jumps nearly 20 percentage points. Now think about the audience Ring of Honor wants to attract. 18-34 male. I’m not saying 70 percent of Ring of Honor fans are going to be offended by what Jay Briscoe said, but they cannot simply stand by and let this matter go without some sort of comment or repudiation. I promise you there are fans pissed off by what they read, and they will reconsider their support for the company if something isn’t done.
I don’t know whether Jay Briscoe should be fired or not in the general sense, but I know if it were me, I would get the world title off of him at the next possible opportunity and strongly consider further punishment. Be it sensitivity training or a suspension. The bottom line is these tweets cannot be written off. Given the audience they’re trying to attract and where the direction of the country is going, ROH needs to stay ahead of the curve and not shun portions of their audience. It’s bad enough female wrestling fans have to watch Scarlett and Selezyia Sparx make out on the ring apron or Kevin Kelly imply the latter is overweight by saying “That’s a whole lot of women carrying Truth.” It almost doesn’t matter whether you individually are offended by this issue. If enough people are offended for whatever reason, serious damage will be done to the reputation of Ring of Honor and possibly professional wrestling as a whole.
So here we are just about a month after what some considered a great night in Ring of Honor’s history. For some, this night will forever be tainted because of what Jay Briscoe said. I have always believed that people are not good or bad because of labels. People seem to get caught up in what people are instead of who they are. It is irrelevant to me whether someone is straight or gay. I’m going to determine whether I like someone if they’re a good person or not, whether they share my beliefs about humanity and an acceptance of those different from themselves. I have the right to these beliefs because of the country I live in. Jay Briscoe, despite my being offended by what he said, also has the right to his opinions and beliefs. That doesn’t mean I need to believe he’s a good person. I can choose to not support Ring of Honor if there isn’t a repudiation of the tweets as posted above and choose to not maintain friendships with those who don’t have similar belief systems about humanity as compared to me. You the reader can make the decision for yourselves.
Ring of Honor has a chance for a real teaching moment. This is a huge moment for them no matter what they choose. All I can say, choose wisely.
I wasn’t the only one with thoughts on this huge issue. There were a number of people who responded to my call for feedback. As long as it wasn’t ignorant and stayed on the task at hand, I’m posting the individuals’ thoughts.
Matt Waters: Mr. Briscoe lives in the United States of America, a country, that I am frequently reminded, practices freedom of speech. He was born and raised in an area that shares values that the mainstream do not necessarily agree with, and has done for generations. He is perfectly within his rights to feel however he wishes about issues of gender, race, sexuality, religion or what-have-you. He is also perfectly allowed to express those opinions to whoever will listen to him. Furthermore, he is at liberty to raise his son in any way he sees fit.
However, Jay Briscoe has a job, both literally and metaphorically. Freedom of speech, to my understanding, is not in effect in the workplace. A company does not have to tolerate any spoken or written words from their employees that they deem inappropriate. One cannot tell their boss they think they are a moron for example. Secondly, he has a moral responsibility as the champion of a wrestling promotion to be the face of their brand. The spotlight is on him at all times and champions are expected to behave in a manner fitting of a person in such a role. Whenever Jay speaks in a public forum, he must be aware of these two factors, and thus by expressing opinions most would deem controversial, he must accept the potential consequences.
Ring of Honor Wrestling and the Sinclair Broadcasting Group will most likely distance themselves from the opinions expressed by Jay, for fear of seeming to endorse them and alienate a large portion of the public they court on a regular basis. But to state they do not agree with Jay Briscoe’s views, and then continue to feature him prominently and portray him positively would make their protestation hollow.
Jay would likely be suspended or released from his contract if he were employed by the WWE, a far larger company with more sponsors and a more prominent public image to maintain. Should ROH do the same? Maybe. Maybe not. At the least his days as their world champion ought to be numbered, and his position on the card will most likely be lowered as well. Beyond that? It’s their call. How big of a backlash they receive from their fans will dictate a lot of it. But SBG are in charge here, and if they do not wish for an individual to appear on their airwaves, then several weeks of taped wrestling stories and plans for a worldwide broadcast mean absolutely nothing.
If I’m Hunter Johnson (or whoever else is running ROH these days) I’m getting an impromptu Best in the World main event for a vacant title ready just in case.
Barry Murphy:Hey Jerome, just to weigh in on this situation as I know you’re writing about it;
Now to address the last couple of tweets he put out. I have no problem with them at all. Many preach tolerance and acceptance these days. Doesn’t that cover both ends of the spectrum? If people can categorize social conservatives as being “close-minded” and “bigots” and it not be seen as hateful, why isn’t Jay free to express his personal opinions on his personal twitter page? I generally think that people who make extreme comments about anything should be ignored.
I guess I say all that to say this: I separate people’s personal beliefs from their professional body of work. If Jay (or anyone else in the wrestling world) came out and said they wanted to marry a horse it wouldn’t effect how I view them as a professional wrestler.
Kevin Ford: I couldn’t possibly care less what Jay Briscoe thinks about homosexuals or same sex marriage. In fact, I shouldn’t know what he thinks. That has nothing to do with him being a professional wrestler. When you’re a public figure for a company, especially when you’re their top attraction and an ambassador (which you can argue one way or another the World Champion of a pro wrestling company is, but for the sake of argument let’s say they are), it is in your best interest to watch what you say.
Nothing good can come of Jay Briscoe tweeting his thoughts on Delaware’s decision on same sex marriage, one way or the other. Those who agree may like him a little more, but those who disagree could think less of him as a person and choose not to support him in his endeavors. As an independent contractor, this is no good. If he has that much heat on him, certain companies might shy away from working with him. As the ROH World champion (which by the way his Twitter picture portrays him as) he really should be careful with certain statements, especially when they’re as sensitive as the issue he brought up. It’s not an infringement on your freedom of speech it’s common courtesy. Know which forum to speak your mind and consider the deleterious effects it could have on yourself and others.
Derek Walker :Hey Jerome,
Jason Pattington: Good afternoon,
In regards to the Jay Briscoe tweets, I have always thought that Jay straddled the line between winking along with the audience (aw shucks, ain’t we backwards rednecks?! hyuck hyuck) and being a sincerely hateful human being. This latest entirely unnecessary outburst leading me to believe he clearly leans towards the latter. Were this part of an (extremely ill advised) angle, I could even cut it a modicum of slack, as wrestling has a long and storied history of wildly inappropriate and offensive storylines. The problem being that this tweet, coupled with the ones before it, have absolutely no payoff. If it were even an off color joke I would be less forgiving, but there isn’t a punchline. Nor has there been in the past. It’s bile for the sake of bile.
I’m a fervent believer in free speech and despite the fact that I strongly disagree with his viewpoints, I still feel like he has the right to express them. It does, however, make him a total piece of shit in my book. And while, admittedly, that literally means nothing in the grand scheme of things, it does mean that I’ll be thinking twice before hitting up the merch table at the next show they’re at, and I’d dare say will make me think twice before I support a company that employs such a vehemently hateful individual.
That’s my two cents, at least.
Thanks for all the awesome work with the site you folks do, keep up the good work.
Matt Hahn: Saw the post on PWP’s Facebook asking for feedback regarding Jay Briscoe’s recent comments involving the LBGT community and felt the need to comment. While I will always support any American’s first amendment right to free speech, I do take offense to what Jay Briscoe has said here as well as in the past. I have numerous friends who fall under the LBGT umbrella and I truly believe that they should be treated equal and deserve to not be judged based on their sexual orientation. Jay has the right to his opinion, but when you are the champion and focal point of an entire company like Ring of Honor (who really doesn’t need any more negative press) you should consider taking the higher road and keeping your opinions to yourself as what you say online or otherwise does reflect on ROH. I think it’s ironic that he is so vocal against the LBGT community when Ring of Honor wouldn’t even exist if it wasn’t created in part by Rob Feinstein, who (correct me if I am wrong) is openly gay, and pro wrestling itself can be viewed by some as having homosexual undertones (muscle-bound sweaty half naked dudes wrestling in a ring…pot meet kettle).
Well said by all.
If you like this article, then congratulations!!! But if Jay Briscoe doesn’t like it I’ll fucking shoot him!
If any of you are expecting Sinclair to do anything, you’re going to be waiting a long time. Sinclair is extremely conservative and aired a documentary not long after Obama’s re-election that painted him as a crypto-socialist out to destroy America. I can certainly guess what their stance on homosexuality is.
Yeah this is a good reason to just stop bothering with ROH altogether. Chikara and PWG are IMO so far above them right now in terms of overall quality so I’ll just stick with them and the ocassional WWE show.