AF Diary #3

 

Jesus. Where to even start with the Twitter timeline from June 17. I guess we should start with…

 

MARTIN BENTLEY.

 

I’ve known Martin for several years and he’s always been a decent enough bloke to chat to. I’ve heard several women refer to him as “creepy” but thought nothing of it because he’s not really ever said anything that I’d consider a red flag. But then I read a post from Stacy King (@stacyking).

 

Guys: you know that dude who said something creepy about women to you once or twice, but seemed fine after that? That dude was testing you. Pushing your boundaries to see how you’d react, the same way they push the girls they prey on.

 

That got me thinking and had he behaved that way initially, sensed my disgust, and stopped? I don’t know but the evidence regarding his attitude towards women is so overwhelming that it’s hard to deal with. Martin needs to take a long, hard look in the mirror and think about how he perceives women and change that. I’m aware that some people who go to women’s wrestling shows do so partly out of curiosity. They’ve not been successful with women in relationships and the only chance they get to talk to women is at these events. Even if its from a position of fandom. Ultimately, they need to Be Better. Stop treating women purely as sex objects. They’re people. Just…be normal.

 

DAVID STARR.

 

Speaking of treating women badly. As with Martin, Starr is someone who I’ve know for a few years. We’ve spoken at shows and exchanged DM’s and he’s a decent guy whose heart is in the right place. He wants to change the world and unionize pro wrestlers for the good of everyone. Have I heard stories about him? Yes, I have. Going back to the USA especially. He has a history of mistreating women and being manipulative. With him, as with Martin, he needs to be better than that. You’ve got to look after the women in your life. The more you manipulate, the worse their lives become for your benefit. That’s not any kind of relationship. There are other manipulators in professional wrestling. A lot of wrestlers are emotionally underdeveloped and incapable of having a loving, adult relationship. It’s not just a wrestling problem, it’s a problem in many different entertainment streams. You hear similar things about sportsmen and actors.

 

As with those professions the wall of silence is there. How many more James Davis’ exist in BritWres? How many more Dan Edler’s? How many stories have you heard about a popular wrestler who’s used their position as a trainer to get into a relationship with a teenage girl. Or used their status to sleep with someone who’s underage. I’m not going to throw any names out here but if half of what I hear is true then BritWres has a massive problem with allowing these people, these so-called “superstars” of the ring to manipulate women into sexual encounters they don’t want to have. And the main problem I have with it is that all I hear are rumours. I heard a rumour about Davis before the rape allegations broke but that was it. That’s all I have with all the other names I’m thinking of. There’s a reason for that.

 

As with movies before the #MeToo movement the British Wrestling scene has a sex offender problem and it won’t go away. Unless the Boys pull down that wall of silence and we stop having to rely on the victims going public to take down the bad apples. It’s time to clean up BritWres for the good of the scene but especially for the good of the women who are being abused by it. Otherwise what’s the point. I know there are good people involved in pro wrestling who are sickened by this. They need to make sure it stops.

 

2020 has been a horrific year but it’s a year of change and those don’t come around very often. It’s a chance to remake the world and to eradicate those things that make it rotten. There are men in BritWres who think their position allows them to do what they want, take what they want and fuck who they want. Well, it doesn’t. Let’s stop the abuse.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

• AF