WWE apologizes for Kobe Bryant rape joke
July 31st, 2012 by faye
The World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE) has already given their full apology after an on-air personality made a joke that one of the wrestlers was “like Kobe Bryant at a hotel room in Colorado … he is unstoppable.”
According to reports, it all happened during a live broadcast of “Monday Night Raw” when a manager named Abraham Washington, who was wearing a live mic, was at the ringside for a match involving a wrestler named Titus O’Neil. During the action, Washington made the Kobe Bryant joke.
The comment was said to be an obvious reference to the 2003 sexual assault case of Kobe Bryant — a case where he was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in his hotel room in Eagle, Colorado. The woman accusing the NBA star of rape eventually reached a settlement with Kobe and decided to drop her case.
A rep for the WWE issued a statement to media outlet TMZ, saying “Abraham Washington made an inappropriate comment and WWE immediately apologized.”
The rep also added, “WWE has taken appropriate action in the matter.” It’s unclear what kind of “action” the organization of WWE has decided to take regarding the comments made by Washington.
Sources claim that Abraham Washington “felt horrible” after he made the remarks, referencing Kobe Bryant. He added that he simply “got caught up in the moment” and later realized that the remarks he made could be hurtful to rape victims and their families.
Washington immediately apologized to the honchos of WWE — including the McMahon family and several wrestlers. He has also vowed to refrain from making similar comments in the future.
Abraham Washington also issued an apology on his Twitter account, calling his comments “inappropriate and insensitive.”
He adds, “I went too far with that joke.”