WWE fines Lars Sullivan $100,000, will complete sensitivity training

[Big Red Machine]

Source: www.F4WOnline.com


By Joseph Currier | @josephcurrier | May 14, 2019 12:53 pm


In a statement issued today, WWE responded to Lars Sullivan's past racist, homophobic, and offensive message board posts.

“WWE supports a culture of inclusion regardless of gender, race, religion or sexual orientation, and we are committed to embracing all individuals as demonstrated by the diversity of our employees, performers and fans worldwide," WWE's statement said.

"Dylan Miley (aka Lars Sullivan) will be fined $100,000 and required to complete sensitivity training for offensive commentary uncovered from his past. WWE will also facilitate meetings for Dylan with community organizations to foster further discussion around the power of social media and the impact of your words.”

Sullivan's offensive Bodybuilding.com forum posts were first uncovered in November 2018 and received renewed attention when compiled into a Reddit thread last week.

Last Friday, Sullivan apologized for the posts via a statement that was issued through WWE: “There is no excuse for the inappropriate remarks that I made years ago. They do not reflect my personal beliefs nor who I am today, and I apologize to anyone I offended.”

Prior to Sullivan's apology, Big E and Kalisto responded on Twitter when asked about Sullivan's posts. Big E wrote: "Many are aware. If true, he has to bear the albatross of being a bigot & working in a company that is now filled with minorities."

Kalisto wrote: "He just needs to get out of my way....I’m Latino...." Kalisto's tweet has since been deleted.

[Serujuunin]

Hm. I was so sure they were going to try to ignore it away.

[KILLdozer]

Hm. I was so sure they were going to try to ignore it away.

Nawh...I mean, I tried that with you...

[Big Red Machine]

Hm. I was so sure they were going to try to ignore it away.

Don't worry. They are.

[cero2k]

Hm. I was so sure they were going to try to ignore it away.

they will, but now they've covered their asses if it ever comes back to them. They can say, 'we fined him!, we didn't just ignored it"

[NWK2000]

Horseshit. Just more outrage culture, brought to you by dorks who have nothing better to do than look through a public figure's online history.

[Big Red Machine]

Horseshit. Just more outrage culture, brought to you by dorks who have nothing better to do than look through a public figure's online history.

I mean... you're not wrong that outrage/"gotcha" culture is the reason this was found, but I think this stuff constitutes something that deserves at least some outrage. They didn't fire the guy; they sent him to sensitivity training to he learns not to say racist things. If he hadn't triggered any racist alarm bells in his years of interacting with people in the company so far, my guess is he telling the truth when he said he is a changed person or that he was making insensitive jokes or whatever. So they'll waste a few hours of Lars' time, fine him money that I'm sure they'll make up to him anyway, and they get to look good for the PR. No one gets hurt.

[NWK2000]

Horseshit. Just more outrage culture, brought to you by dorks who have nothing better to do than look through a public figure's online history.

I mean... you're not wrong that outrage/"gotcha" culture is the reason this was found, but I think this stuff constitutes something that deserves at least some outrage. They didn't fire the guy; they sent him to sensitivity training to he learns not to say racist things. If he hadn't triggered any racist alarm bells in his years of interacting with people in the company so far, my guess is he telling the truth when he said he is a changed person or that he was making insensitive jokes or whatever. So they'll waste a few hours of Lars' time, fine him money that I'm sure they'll make up to him anyway, and they get to look good for the PR. No one gets hurt.

Racism absolutely constitutes outrage. But as you said, no super-recent incidents, especially in being a public figure, would indicate that he has learned from his mistakes. But this bizarre culture we have where we judge people by their past character, even if the current character reflects the opposite, has ruined careers, especially in Hollywood and that upsets me.

[Big Red Machine]

Horseshit. Just more outrage culture, brought to you by dorks who have nothing better to do than look through a public figure's online history.

I mean... you're not wrong that outrage/"gotcha" culture is the reason this was found, but I think this stuff constitutes something that deserves at least some outrage. They didn't fire the guy; they sent him to sensitivity training to he learns not to say racist things. If he hadn't triggered any racist alarm bells in his years of interacting with people in the company so far, my guess is he telling the truth when he said he is a changed person or that he was making insensitive jokes or whatever. So they'll waste a few hours of Lars' time, fine him money that I'm sure they'll make up to him anyway, and they get to look good for the PR. No one gets hurt.

Racism absolutely constitutes outrage. But as you said, no super-recent incidents, especially in being a public figure, would indicate that he has learned from his mistakes. But this bizarre culture we have where we judge people by their past character, even if the current character reflects the opposite, has ruined careers, especially in Hollywood and that upsets me.

I don't blame you for being upset, and it worries me, too, that we live in a culture where Tim Hardaway would be turned into a pariah instead of given the chance to change himself and do all of the good he has done. But all indications here are that WWE is not going to let this ruin Lars' career.

I think Big E.'s statement on this had a wonderfully coded message in it, which was basically that if "he's going to be surrounded by minorities in his workplace, if he has changed then he has nothing to worry about, but if he hasn't changed then he'll slip up eventually and it will be exposed and then he will be punished with actual cause.

[cero2k]

Racism absolutely constitutes outrage. But as you said, no super-recent incidents, especially in being a public figure, would indicate that he has learned from his mistakes. But this bizarre culture we have where we judge people by their past character, even if the current character reflects the opposite, has ruined careers, especially in Hollywood and that upsets me.

has he shown he has changed tho? anyone can do a fake apology, it got Hogan back on Wrestlemania and many more on the Hall of Fame, hell, if only Moolah was alive to do some PR and get a battle royal named after her. Lars is not just racist, he has talked shit about sooo much stuff, one does not just suddenly become a tolerant all welcoming person by going to sensibility school. That shit is rooted deep inside him and he wouldn't be antagonizing people a month ago if he had changed.






I think this dude has an incredibly huge inferiority complex and does all this shit to make up for it. Is he racist or just talking out of his ass? we don't know, but as they say, you live by the sword, you die by the sword. In 2011 we all already knew that everything you say on the internet is gonna hunt you later. This isn't like bringing up a Jim Duggan sexist promo from the 80's.

lol @ "anxiety attacks" in a grown man. It's called a mental disorder, and it's called stop being a bitch who likes to feel sorry for yourself. Be a man, don't be scared, and get out there and live your life.

And then he goes and fucks up his and John Cena's WM plans because he had his own anxiety attack.

at the end of the day, does anyone here actually believe WWE is gonna change that fine? that's probably his saudi paycheck at most

[Big Red Machine]

Racism absolutely constitutes outrage. But as you said, no super-recent incidents, especially in being a public figure, would indicate that he has learned from his mistakes. But this bizarre culture we have where we judge people by their past character, even if the current character reflects the opposite, has ruined careers, especially in Hollywood and that upsets me.

has he shown he has changed tho? anyone can do a fake apology, it got Hogan back on Wrestlemania and many more on the Hall of Fame, hell, if only Moolah was alive to do some PR and get a battle royal named after her. Lars is not just racist, he has talked shit about sooo much stuff, one does not just suddenly become a tolerant all welcoming person by going to sensibility school. That shit is rooted deep inside him and he wouldn't be antagonizing people a month ago if he had changed.






I think this dude has an incredibly huge inferiority complex and does all this shit to make up for it. Is he racist or just talking out of his ass? we don't know, but as they say, you live by the sword, you die by the sword. In 2011 we all already knew that everything you say on the internet is gonna hunt you later. This isn't like bringing up a Jim Duggan sexist promo from the 80's.

lol @ "anxiety attacks" in a grown man. It's called a mental disorder, and it's called stop being a bitch who likes to feel sorry for yourself. Be a man, don't be scared, and get out there and live your life.

And then he goes and fucks up his and John Cena's WM plans because he had his own anxiety attack.

at the end of the day, does anyone here actually believe WWE is gonna change that fine? that's probably his saudi paycheck at most

You're not wrong that anyone can deliver a fake apology, but we have to consider someone changed until they show themselves not to be, because, functionally, they are. In your heart of hearts you can be the biggest racist in the world, but if you never say anything racist or treat anyone differently and you just keep the thoughts in your head, no one is hurt and no one knows.

[cero2k]

You're not wrong that anyone can deliver a fake apology, but we have to consider someone changed until they show themselves not to be, because, functionally, they are. In your heart of hearts you can be the biggest racist in the world, but if you never say anything racist or treat anyone differently and you just keep the thoughts in your head, no one is hurt and no one knows.

yeap, racists and such need to stay in the closet for their own sake. people like Hogan and Lars and Zahra or the Briscoes or Warrior or Styles fucked up at one point or another and it's not up to me to say whether their heads should be cut or they should be given a second chance. The one thing i do believe is that they should all be treated the same by both the fans and the company. They can't just excuse those that 'have potential' or are cool while others get fired. If $100,000 is the cost of having made stupid comments back in the day, then that has to be the norm going forward. We all know that WWE is 100% immoral, but they can't just go and punish according to how much the public image is affected.

[Big Red Machine]

You're not wrong that anyone can deliver a fake apology, but we have to consider someone changed until they show themselves not to be, because, functionally, they are. In your heart of hearts you can be the biggest racist in the world, but if you never say anything racist or treat anyone differently and you just keep the thoughts in your head, no one is hurt and no one knows.

yeap, racists and such need to stay in the closet for their own sake. people like Hogan and Lars and Zahra or the Briscoes or Warrior or Styles fucked up at one point or another and it's not up to me to say whether their heads should be cut or they should be given a second chance. The one thing i do believe is that they should all be treated the same by both the fans and the company. They can't just excuse those that 'have potential' or are cool while others get fired. If $100,000 is the cost of having made stupid comments back in the day, then that has to be the norm going forward. We all know that WWE is 100% immoral, but they can't just go and punish according to how much the public image is affected.

Right. But to this point there is no evidence that they have a double-standard. Hogan was not a standard employee, Zahra I think, actually got fired for being crazy and the Nazi paraphernalia or whatever it was came afterwards. When Aliyah had her issues they accepted her explanation and moved on, but that was much more minor stuff.

[Bob-O]

I'm not sympathizing with the man, I don't care for him, and I understand it's a weird situation for WWE, but how in the fuck are you going to fine a man $100,000 for things he did before you hired him? That's just not how it works! Fire him? Sure. Send him to sensitivity training? OK, whatever. But who are you to FINE HIM, financially profit from him, for actions he made years before you even knew who he was? This, in theory, would be the same concept as them giving Wellness Strikes to guys for doing steroids before they worked there.

[NWK2000]

I think this dude has an incredibly huge inferiority complex and does all this shit to make up for it. Is he racist or just talking out of his ass? we don't know, but as they say, you live by the sword, you die by the sword. In 2011 we all already knew that everything you say on the internet is gonna hunt you later. This isn't like bringing up a Jim Duggan sexist promo from the 80's.

You can be a non-racist conservative and still get joy in "trolling the snowflakes lol" which, as you correctly stated, indicates a severe inferiority complex.

lol @ "anxiety attacks" in a grown man. It's called a mental disorder, and it's called stop being a bitch who likes to feel sorry for yourself. Be a man, don't be scared, and get out there and live your life.

And then he goes and fucks up his and John Cena's WM plans because he had his own anxiety attack.

So I'm just going to assume this is one of the forum post from Lars. It's easy to make blanket statements about anxiety until you experience it, much like it's easy to make blanket statements about anyone that isn't from your background until you experience the rigors of their life. I would be willing to allow Lars to reneg his comments about anxiety having just suffered a huge attack himself.

at the end of the day, does anyone here actually believe WWE is gonna change that fine? that's probably his saudi paycheck at most

[/quote]
Fining him any amount of money is arbitrary in my opinion because there's no way to equate the damage he's done with his comments into dollars. I would assume that they just picked a number

[NWK2000]

I'm not sympathizing with the man, I don't care for him, and I understand it's a weird situation for WWE, but how in the fuck are you going to fine a man $100,000 for things he did before you hired him? That's just not how it works! Fire him? Sure. Send him to sensitivity training? OK, whatever. But who are you to FINE HIM, financially profit from him, for actions he made years before you even knew who he was? This, in theory, would be the same concept as them giving Wellness Strikes to guys for doing steroids before they worked there.

As I said in Cero's post, somebody probably just picked a number. But yes, I do agree with you. Setting a number amount is arbitrary.

[KILLdozer]

I'm not sympathizing with the man, I don't care for him, and I understand it's a weird situation for WWE, but how in the fuck are you going to fine a man $100,000 for things he did before you hired him? That's just not how it works! Fire him? Sure. Send him to sensitivity training? OK, whatever. But who are you to FINE HIM, financially profit from him, for actions he made years before you even knew who he was? This, in theory, would be the same concept as them giving Wellness Strikes to guys for doing steroids before they worked there.

Yeah, it's really absolutely none of their business what he did before he got there...as long as he isn't a criminal with a bad image-which he obviously isn't.

[Big Red Machine]

I'm not sympathizing with the man, I don't care for him, and I understand it's a weird situation for WWE, but how in the fuck are you going to fine a man $100,000 for things he did before you hired him? That's just not how it works! Fire him? Sure. Send him to sensitivity training? OK, whatever. But who are you to FINE HIM, financially profit from him, for actions he made years before you even knew who he was? This, in theory, would be the same concept as them giving Wellness Strikes to guys for doing steroids before they worked there.

My assumption is that this fine is technically for having this issue out there and not informing them of it when they hired him rather than the comments themselves.

[KILLdozer]

I'm not sympathizing with the man, I don't care for him, and I understand it's a weird situation for WWE, but how in the fuck are you going to fine a man $100,000 for things he did before you hired him? That's just not how it works! Fire him? Sure. Send him to sensitivity training? OK, whatever. But who are you to FINE HIM, financially profit from him, for actions he made years before you even knew who he was? This, in theory, would be the same concept as them giving Wellness Strikes to guys for doing steroids before they worked there.

My assumption is that this fine is technically for having this issue out there and not informing them of it when they hired him rather than the comments themselves.

Get outta here. There's no reason to have mentioned any of this to them because it's in his past.

[cero2k]

I'm not sympathizing with the man, I don't care for him, and I understand it's a weird situation for WWE, but how in the fuck are you going to fine a man $100,000 for things he did before you hired him? That's just not how it works! Fire him? Sure. Send him to sensitivity training? OK, whatever. But who are you to FINE HIM, financially profit from him, for actions he made years before you even knew who he was? This, in theory, would be the same concept as them giving Wellness Strikes to guys for doing steroids before they worked there.

Yeah, it's really absolutely none of their business what he did before he got there...as long as he isn't a criminal with a bad image-which he obviously isn't.

it is totally their business because that stuff will always come back and they are a public company, but they still decided to hire him knowing about it, and so we know they never cared about it. It may not be criminal, but it's definitely bad image.

Like i said, the fine is just to cover their asses so people let it go. Kinda like when they just washed their hands when that Uso got arrested. WWE will always have a double standard depending on how much money you make for them.