WWE, why aren’t you as quick to support Black women?

WWE superstar Sasha Banks was on the receiving end of vile comments from an AEW wrestler.

We are in one of the most crucial periods of wrestling history, as brave people, mostly women, are #SpeakingOut about being sexually assaulted, emotionally gaslighted, and physically abused by their peers, nearly all men, in the wrestling business.

And while WWE superstar Sasha Banks wasn’t among the wrestlers speaking out, she was on the receiving end of some horrendous comments made by current AEW wrestler Sammy Guevara on a podcast called the “Raw 4th Hour Podcast” in 2016.

Guevara said he wanted to “go and f—ing rape that woman”, in reference to Banks. At the time, Guevara was working as an extra on a WWE show.

These comments warrant a personal apology from Guevara, a statement from AEW that isn’t a copy of their horrible notes app statement regarding Jimmy Havoc, and a commitment to actively playing a role in dismantling rape culture. Because Guevara’s comments weren’t just a joke; they were the kind of comments that abusers and enablers make in order to minimize and actively maintain rape culture.

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But from everyone else, Guevara’s comments warrant support for Sasha Banks, who, although nothing happened to her physically, is a victim of Guevara’s verbal sexual abuse, which falls under the category of sexual harassment. The words may have not been said to her face, but Guevara was in her presence in 2016 and is now aware of those comments. And if she weren’t, Guevara’s words are still very much not OK.

Yet we haven’t seen people support Sasha Banks in the same way they supported Alexa Bliss. And Alexa absolutely needed to receive support from wrestlers, fans, and co-workers after JD’s awful, misogynistic remarks.

The problem is that Black women in WWE rarely receive the same support from their peers. Simone Johnson is one of the few brave people in the company who uses her platform to speak up for what’s right, and she is doing an amazing job of calling out Guevara and coming to Sasha’s support.

Where is everyone else, though? Specifically, the white wrestlers. Where are they? Why aren’t they decrying these comments from Guevara and making Banks feel supported and less alone at a time when she has become aware of these comments?

It’s a repeated pattern in WWE. Sasha Banks isn’t the only one who has been in this situation. Remember all the times Naomi was attacked by racist trolls? How many WWE superstars spoke up to help Naomi?

We call this implicit racism. Maybe wrestlers don’t agree with what Guevara said or like Sasha Banks or aren’t Jaxson Ryker clones. But they can still be complicit and exhibiting implicit racism by not coming to Sasha’s defense because they view Sasha as “tough enough to handle it” or maybe they just don’t see her as being worth coming to her defense.

WWE backstage personnel, including executives like Triple H and Stephanie McMahon and wrestlers need to do a better job of supporting Black women, who face some of the most awful attacks from fans and even other wrestlers, such as Guevara, at a particular intersection of misogyny and racism. By not speaking out, they are making Black wrestlers, especially Black women, feel unwelcome and unwanted. That’s a powerful way racism continues to operate in society, corporate spaces, and interpersonal relationships.

As for me, you can better believe I won’t keep my mouth shut. And if it makes you mad, I consider you part of the problem.