Sasha Banks’ classy response to Sammy Guevara speaks volumes

WWE superstar Sasha Banks showed why she is unequivocally ‘The Boss’.

The wrestling industry is in a state of reckoning, as brave people in the wrestling business, mostly women, are #SpeakingOut on Twitter about sexual assault, physical abuse, emotional manipulation, and sexual harassment.

Recently, audio has surfaced of Sammy Guevara making racist remarks and saying that he wanted to “f—king rape” WWE superstar Sasha Banks. Guevara was speaking on the Raw’s 4th Hour podcast, and he had been working as an extra at a WWE show after making those comments.

Guevara was first caught liking a tweet from a fan minimizing his disgusting, dehumanizing remarks that uphold rape culture as a “joke”. He then tweeted an apology that did not include Sasha Banks before later addressing Banks directly in a later tweet, mentioning that the two had spoken earlier.

Given the tweet Guevara liked, fans have rightfully questioned the honesty of Guevara’s apology. Many people try to backtrack and apologize only when the have been caught, especially when there are consequences to said person’s job.

Sasha Banks released her own statement on the matter, and I want you to notice how much longer and more genuine her message is, even though she’s the one addressing Guevara’s disgraceful, harmful remarks. The harm was done to her, yet she wrote the professional response in Pages (not Notes!), signed her real name, and actually wrote something well-thought-out.

It was a classy response, but it’s another reminder of how women end up having to carry more of the labor and take the high road, doing far more than the men who actually hurt them.

Note that nowhere in Banks’ apology did she say that she forgives or accepts Guevara’s apology, and she has every right to not include that. Guevara’s apology may not be genuine, and he needs to do far more than send words to keep his job to prove he’s changed.

Everything Banks said in her message is important for us to read and understand. These remarks are not jokes and have no place in our society. They are intolerable, and it is up to us, especially men, to do better and to hold other men accountable for perpetuating rape culture with these kinds of comments.

Sasha Banks is an incredible person who is one of the best wrestlers and people in this industry, setting a positive example once again. Meanwhile, Guevara has fallen short and has lost the trust of wrestling fans. Only he can put in the work to do better.