Darren Young Comes out.

rovert

Darren Young comes out:
http://m.tmz.com/2013/08/15/darren-young-wwe-superstar-gay/

Tinie

When did Chris O'Dowd become a paparazzi?

chopperbyrne

If that's true and other mainstream media outlets pick up on it, then expect him to get a big push. WWE's poster boy for tolerance and acceptance.

gnfnrhead

chopperbyrne wrote: »

If that's true and other mainstream media outlets pick up on it, then expect him to get a big push. WWE's poster boy for tolerance and acceptance.

If its true, WWE probably already knew and yet he's gotten very little. If it were the case, they wouldn't need him to announce it, they'd announce it for him!

rovert

It was likely done to promote Summerslam and the interview was arranged by WWE & TMZ as they trade stories all the time. It is 2013 that's how public relations works.

GTR63

Wasn't he going out with Tamina?

Dancor

Darren is now the first openly gay wrestler ever at WWE

Pat Patterson?

rovert

Dancor wrote: »

Pat Patterson?

No that's the other dude:


:P

Omackeral

Orlando Jordan is gay is he not? Or maybe that's bisexual.

And who gayer than Kanyon?!?

Angron

OJ didn't come out publicly until after he left WWE though (I think).

rovert

First Openly Gay WWE Superstar®

gnfnrhead

He's the first to announce it while working for WWE, but far from being the first gay wrestler in the company. If he is gay (which I'm not convinced of due to his happy talk straight after. Gay is another term for being happy) then everyone he works with likely already knew.

jaykhunter

I know OJ didn't come out until after WWE, but surely Patterson, Terry Garvin and Chris Kanyon were openly gay in WWF/E?

GTR63

jaykhunter wrote: »

I know OJ didn't come out until after WWE, but surely Patterson, Terry Garvin and Chris Kanyon were openly gay in WWF/E?

Yeah but WWE are whoring themselves after a bit of attention from TMZ. Don't let little things like facts get in the way.

rovert

GTR63 wrote: »

Yeah but WWE are whoring themselves after a bit of attention from TMZ. Don't let little things like facts get in the way.

Imagine how much fun would the phrase First Openly Gay WWE Superstar appearing in his Titantron video would be?

GTR63

rovert wrote: »

Imagine how much fun would the phrase First Openly Gay WWE Superstar appearing in his Titantron video would be?

HHH might not want to add that title to his on screen graphic.

rovert

Totally looks they have released him:
http://www.wwe.com/inside/wwe-releases-statement-on-darren-young

Digitalism

Wait, am i missing something? Is he actually gay or is this his new gimmick to go with the BA* stuff?

ciano316

Who's better than Kanyon???

gnfnrhead

ciano316 wrote: »

Who's better than Kanyon???

Was it not "Who betta than Kanyon?"

Mr.Nice Guy

I don't think wrestling fans will care really which is a compliment to wrestling fans.

I think if a Premiership footballer came out as gay he'd suffer a torrent of hate from away supporters.

Lord TSC

Triple H on Twitter...

Congratulations, @DarrenYoungWWE for living YOUR life, YOUR way. #proud

Honestly, fair play to him, but I worry now he'll get pushed for no other reason than he's come out, which is a tad condescending. He wasn't pushed based on wrestling talent or being over; he'll get pushed cause it suits WWE to have someone who is "openly gay". And sadly I fear what sort of gimmick he could get...you know WWE are the type to have a segment where he comes on to Vince now...

Still, again, fair play to him, and on a personal level, I hope he's happier. I can't imagine what it must be like to have to hide such a big aspect of who you are, and I hope the "smart" fans don't get nasty in "smart" cities.

Insect Overlord

Teamshadowclan wrote: »

Honestly, fair play to him, but I worry now he'll get pushed for no other reason than he's come out, which is a tad condescending. He wasn't pushed based on wrestling talent or being over; he'll get pushed cause it suits WWE to have someone who is "openly gay". And sadly I fear what sort of gimmick he could get...you know WWE are the type to have a segment where he comes on to Vince now...

His match with Cena a few weeks ago was quite good.

Jason Todd

My first reaction was... what kind of horrible gimmick or angle will he given now.

xpletiv

Someone needs to update his Twitter bio.

Andersonisgod

So I follow WWE's Facebook page and they posted the news about this, I then had a look at some of the comments and wow, I mean the kind of stuff which beggars belief. I know it's Facebook and the comments section of these big pages are usually of a pretty low quality but this was as ridiculous, close minded and downright bigoted as it gets. For the sake of balance, there was a few who tried to talk a bit of sense to these people but the sheer amount of homophobia was crazy. I am not exaggerating when I say that the vast majority of those homophobic comments were sent by people unable to spell, I can only assume that there is a correlation there somewhere.

Personally I think fair play to Darren, a brave thing to do given the (widely reported) environment in the WWE locker room. I'd like to think that this wont result in either a massive push or instant demotion then firing, and that he will be continue to be judged on his overall work as a wrestler but maybe I am just naive.

smellmepower

That's him safe from future endeavouring for a year or so at least.

Furious-Red

smellmepower wrote: »

That's him safe from future endeavouring for a year or so at least.

Maybe JTG will do the same to stay there for a few more years too ha .

In seriousness fair play to him for taking a big step like this

bobby_says_hi

To answer all the loose questions - Orlando Jordan is bisexual. It was known while he was in WWE because he kept pitching that horrible character he played in TNA to management and they kept shutting him down. Kanyon didn't properly come out until about three years after he left WWE but there were rumours while he was still there judging from that infamous segment with the Undertaker. And never heard about anything between him and Tamina. I was under the impression she was already married with two daughters

JP Liz V1

Good on him but I hope it isn't used now for a storyline

riffmongous

Great news for him, and it has to be said he is still one of the well known sports people to have come out, (which is actually pretty sad) and if the fans are respectful it could be seen as an inspiration. Also if this did lead to a push for PTP together I certainly wouldn't be complaining about it, I think they should have been pushed ages ago, they are funny guys and can put on some good matches.

GTR63

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

Good on him but I hope it isn't used now for a storyline

Michael Cole: I can't believe Darren Young is in love with.....JR.

Bounty Hunter

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

Good on him but I hope it isn't used now for a storyline

exactley my thoughts on it. Fair play to him for having the courage to come out and even though I am sure that as Rovert suggests the WWE probably fed the story to TMZ fair play to them for supporting him doing so. That is as long as he isn't suddenly changed into a super camp character or something similar on screen in an attempt to get a reaction and exploit this instead of as said just supporting him. I'd also agree that he isn't going to lose his job anytime soon (not saying he would have) unless he does something incredibly stupid as that would be a PR nightmare for the WWE so soon after him coming out and them acknowledging him as the first openly gay WWE superstar.

spiritcrusher

I can't see WWE using it in a story tbh. HHH and Stephanie seem to have a pretty big influence these days and they're probably a bit more tactful than Vince might have been in the past. I also don't see him getting much of a push on the back of it because, let's face it, he's a bit sh*t. He might get out from under Titus O'Neil's shadow a bit more but can't see anything major coming from it. It'd probably be a patronising to the guy anyway if he ended up getting a push cos he's gay and not because of his talent.

All that said, it's great to see that he's confident enough in WWE to come out. Some other sports, and sports stars, could certainly learn a lot from that attitude.

CSF

Was not aware of that Undertaker situation. Years of respect lost. **** the streak.

riffmongous

spiritcrusher wrote: »

I can't see WWE using it in a story tbh. HHH and Stephanie seem to have a pretty big influence these days and they're probably a bit more tactful than Vince might have been in the past.

Paul Bearer's death, King's heart attack and Cena's marital problems were all used in storylines recently enough..

Does everyone really think he is a **** wrestler? Or do people mean he is just a midcarder?? For me there is no shame in someone being a solid midcarder and I think PTP certainly could be as a face tag team.

CSF wrote: »

Was not aware of that Undertaker situation. Years of respect lost. **** the streak.

Hm?

CastorTroy

Fair play to him talking about it, but it just seemed like he couldn't be bothered doing the interview and like he said; he's living his life.

Then the guy wished him all the best in his future endeavours.

Furious-Red

Titus O’Neil: “I’m VERY PROUD of @DarrenYoungWWE He’s been like Family 2Me&My Kids And that won’t Change! #ImInFullSupportOfDarren”

Rosa Mendes: “@DarrenYoungWWE I’m so proud of you!! See you this week!!”

Matt Morgan: ENORMOUS courage out of @DarrenYoungWWE today! U should be very proud of urself Darren! #WhatAGreatExampleForOthers

Chavo Guerrero: Huge support for @DarrenYoungWWE !! Great guy & great wrestler! Kudos for @JohnCena supporting comments too

Joey Ryan: Let us hope we can all spend at least one day of our lives as courageous as @DarrenYoungWWE is today.

Kenny King: @JoeyRyanOnline @darrenyoungwwe Amen joe. Big props to Darren

“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan: Super proud of @DarrenYoungWWE for being the first openly gay WWE Superstar that isn’t Goldust.

Joey Styles: http://WWE.com : @WWE releases statement in support of @DarrenYoungWWE http://www.wwe.com/inside/wwe-releases-statement-on-darren-young …

“Brutal Bob Evans: What was most impressive is that @DarrenYoungWWE didn’t act like it was “a thing” in WWE. We shouldn’t either. #progress #NoH8

Triple H: Congratulations, @DarrenYoungWWE for living YOUR life, YOUR way. #proud

Marty DeRosa: Hats off to @DarrenYoungWWE for coming out.

Shane “Hurricane” Helms: Good job @DarrenYoungWWE Respect!! Somewhere my friend Kanyon is smiling down.

Jim Ross:“@StephMcMahon: Congratulations to @DarrenYoungWWE for being the first openly gay WWE Superstar! I second that. #NonIssue

John Cena spoke with TMZ about Darren Young’s announcement that he is gay. Here is what Cena had to say…

On Young’s Announcement: “Oh wonderful,” Cena said … “I know Darren personally. Darren’s a great guy. That’s a very bold move for him. And congratulations for him for actually finally doing it.”

Zack Ryder: “Proud of you bro @DarrenYoungWWE”;

Evan Bourne: “Nothing but love and respect for my dude @DarrenYoungWWE!”

Josh Matthews: “Very proud to be apart of @WWE today. Tremendous show of courage from @DarrenYoungWWE”;

Renee Young: “Happy for @DarrenYoungWWE! Big moment for him and everyone else. Happy for you, bud!”

Tony Dawson: ““@StephMcMahon: Congratulations to @DarrenYoungWWE for being the first openly gay WWE Superstar!” I support D Young 100%.”

Curt Hawkins: “Wow! @DarrenYoungWWE is fearless. This is a historic day for the sport of professional wrestling. Good for you D-Young!”

Drew McIntyre: “History in our business will remember @DarrenYoungWWE as a pioneer with the courage to say proud, this is who I am. Hell of a talent & a man”

David Otunga: “I’m proud of @DarrenYoungWWE for his courageous decision. He’s a genuinely good dude and one of the most talented performers in @WWE”;

Carlito: Im happy for you darren young! A lil advice..dont go to Russia any time soon!!

cena

Good for darren.

CastorTroy

Maybe now any future superstars that admit they're gay won't have to have the word "courageous" used to describe them just for saying who they are.

Dick Masterson

CSF wrote: »

Was not aware of that Undertaker situation. Years of respect lost. **** the streak.

What Undertaker situation?

CSF

Dick Masterson wrote: »

What Undertaker situation?

The Chris Kanyon Smackdown thing. A google and a watch of the video would explain better than I could tbh.

riffmongous

Dick Masterson wrote: »

What Undertaker situation?

It's also well worth reading the full story of Chris Kanyon, I only read about it for the first time earlier this evening after CSF referenced it, a pretty sad read.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/921023-wwe-wcw-star-chris-kanyons-posthumously-released-book-is-a-must-read

http://www.theawl.com/2011/04/all-he-wanted-chris-kanyons-doomed-quest-to-be-wrestlings-first-openly-gay-star

Diabhal Beag

Pretty sound advice from Carlito too.

D.Q

Undertaker is a ****ing scumbag.

P_1

Fair play to Darren Young, especially how he seems so 'it's not that much of a big deal' about it.

Undertakers treatment of Kanyon was bloody disgusting though. I suppose it does fall in with his rather conservative political views

Insect Overlord

riffmongous wrote: »

It's also well worth reading the full story of Chris Kanyon, I only read about it for the first time earlier this evening after CSF referenced it, a pretty sad read.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/921023-wwe-wcw-star-chris-kanyons-posthumously-released-book-is-a-must-read

http://www.theawl.com/2011/04/all-he-wanted-chris-kanyons-doomed-quest-to-be-wrestlings-first-openly-gay-star

P_1 wrote: »

Undertakers treatment of Kanyon was bloody disgusting though. I suppose it does fall in with his rather conservative political views

I feel a bit sick after reading that story. The man must have suffered something awful.

Here's hoping some hard lessons have been learned and that Young's story is a much happier one.

Stereomaniac

Well the world is changing, and the people in it have to change with the times as well. I can only think of 2 other openly gay people involved with wrestling, Pat Patterson & Bob Mould.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Has the wrestling business moved on that much in the dressing rooms? Maybe it has if you take out the NFL lockers. :pac:

I play Rugby and Soccer at an amateur level and gay insults and slurs are still certainly used in our dressing rooms and on the field. I really don't think it will ever be accepted by a certain number of plebs. Some of the jokes they pull out are quite imaginative in fairness, I'd be banned if I repeated any though. :pac:

rovert

Jester252

I would suspect, from the support from the backroom, that the nothing major would change. It won't look good for them if he is treated any different.