As Bodyslam.Net exclusively reported, Gisele Shaw was verbally assaulted with transphobic remarks by Rick Steiner at WresleCon on March 31st. Immediately following the incident, Gisele took a break from social media, only to return on May 15th with a Twitter post about “needing a mental health break.”
While Rick has yet to address the issue publicly, recently, Michael Bochicchio, the Owner of WrestleCon, made a comment with further details about the initial incident.
I’m going to address the Rick Steiner issue here instead of responding to every post. I hope everyone takes the time to read, but I also understand if you choose not to hear another side.
Rick made completely inappropriate remarks to Giselle Shaw at our event in Los Angeles.
As soon as we were made aware of what happened, we swiftly addressed the issue, but we never shared details of what happened at the event. In hindsight, it was probably a mistake not to share more details during or immediately after the event concluded. I take full responsibility- my wife died 3 weeks after the LA show at the age of 46, after a long battle with cancer, and I made a lot of mistakes during that time.
However, at no time then or after do we condone the remarks Rick made at LA. We did not fail to act after we were notified, and as a result, we removed him from the convention for the duration of that event. Rick’s poor decision forever impacted his brand , relationships within the wrestling community, and alienated many of his fans.
One of the positive things Rick did, and it was not publicized, is immediately apologize. He apologized to members of the Wrestlecon staff, he apologized to many of his fellow wrestlers, and offerred apologies to the members of Impact Wrestling staff that chose to hear from him at a private mediated event.
Giselle chose not to attend Rick’s apology, which we 100% understood, supported, and still support to this day. She had no obligation to hear anything from Rick nor should she ever feel obligated to accept any apology from him then or now.
Now that we are three months beyond this event, I feel that Rick learned a lot from his huge mistake. I know it’s easier to cancel people when they make mistakes than to forgive and help educate. However, sometimes I think it’s important that we give people a second chance.
That being said, Rick will forever be on a zero-tolerance scale moving forward at any of our events. If we are proven wrong, that he has not learned from his mistakes, we will enforce a permanent ban. That is not to imply that everyone gets one free strike.
We continue to strive to have an environment where everyone feels safe and included. If we are faced with issues that compromise that environment, we will take all necessary action.
This statement came about because Rick and his brother Scott have been booked for another WrestleCon event in August.
Bodyslam.Net also ran 2 exclusives about a list of other active talent and legends who were present when this onslaught on Gisele took place.
Rick Steiner was confronted about the incident by a fan at the airport a few days later; Rick had “no comment” to make.
Fan Confronts Rick Steiner At Airport About Alleged Incident With Gisele Shaw, Rick Has “No Comment”
Follow Gerard at @BearDown316 on Twitter
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