Ashley Massaro recently died. Her affadavit when she sued WWE includes her being encouraged by Vince McMahon not to report that she was drugged and raped by US military staff while on tour in Kuwait. Content warning - this is sickening reading. (1/2)

Some further details around WWE head Vince McMahon and her being discouraged from pursuing anything. Also worth taking note of how the culture made her fear for her job. Full affadavit here: https://wweconcussionlawsuitnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Ashley-Massaro-Affidavit-Clean-11.1.pdf

It's also worth noting the links between concussions and depression/suicide. This is an area being researched, but the lack of care around a traumatic situation cannot have made life easier.

The lawsuit, it is worth noting, was thrown out. WWE claim Massaro contacted them to apologise about being part of the lawsuit. https://theblast.com/wwe-ashley-massaro-regret-lawsuit-apologize/

Whether or not the lawsuit was frivolous, I am shocked by this story. And it seems like it's worth more specific investigation. At the very least, a journalist may want to find out if the people mentioned support or deny her story.

Personally, I'm sickened by this story. It's horrendous. And, if true, her being encouraged to say nothing to avoid the company looking bad, or damaging a partnership with the military, is utterly shocking.

I would very much like some journalists to follow this up.

Also, it's worth noting that apologising for being part of a failed lawsuit and saying she should have contacted them first is not the same as saying the events didn't happen.

Hat tip to @BenSohawon for sharing this - it's how I found out about it. https://twitter.com/BenSohawon/status/1129736214414843905?s=19

For those who aren't fans, some context here might be important. WWE was, for almost 20 years, the only game in town. There are other promotions, but WWE was a giant. Almost nobody wants to burn their bridges with them.

You'll hear a lot of wrestling fans say 'I don't support the company, but I want to support the wrestlers who work for it - I'm a fan of them'. The thing is, it's never been easier to find alternatives to watch.

I've also got to the point now where, even if I am a fan of specific wrestlers, I have to keep in mind that they are choosing to support and endorse WWE. I get it - it's a huge organisation, and for many, it's been the life-long dream. But they're choosing to do so.

If you're aware of all the shit - the Saudi propaganda, the Ashley Massaro story, the 'independent contractor' bullshit, the Jimmy Snuka story, the Trump connections (including their participation in his 'foundation' scam) - and you still support/watch them? You're choosing to.

WWE put out a statement after Massaro's death stating that she apologised for being part of the lawsuit. That's not a denial it happened. They rehired the only person involved who wasn't already employed by them, so all the witnesses have a personal stake involved.

Since some have asked why this wasn't a story before, my understanding is that the affadavit wasn't publicly released until she passed away. The previous version of the story was far more vague, so people didn't generally know the full severity of the attack.

People keep tagging in wrestling news sites. I'm not expecting them to take this up unless it gets taken up by mainstream media or unless someone in the org interacts with the story.

Same with wrestlers, by the way. If it gets turned into a story by more mainstream media, we might see them speak out. Without that, nobody will want to be first. But I doubt anyone will actively attack the story either, in case they're wrong.

Yes, I do find that very sad. It's a lesson in the real world.

I very much want a journalist to find out if WWE did change their policy regarding women being alone on tours like this, and if so, when and why. They're a corporation. That meeting led to policies which lead to paperwork.

Worth noting how many wrestling 'newz' sites didn't publish anything about Massaro's allegations but immediately published WWE's response.

Some further questions now WWE have denied the allegations, that an enterprising journalist might want to ask:

1 - Why did it take so long for WWE to release a statement, when they so quickly released excerpts from her email to them apologising?
2 - What was the context of those excerpts? What did the rest of the email say?

3 - Why are WWE claiming to have had no knowledge of any sexual assault, when in their original court response, they claimed she was heard telling people about an 'inappropriate pelvic exam'? What did they know and when?

4 - Did they change their policy re: unaccompanied women on tours? If so, when and what was the reason they changed it?

For the record, WWE's statement. https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/1131341772624465921

For a depressing example of corporations and newspapers cozying up together, The Sun's article on this contains a box-out on how to get tickets for Wrestlemania. https://twitter.com/SunSport/status/1131486699014545408

The Sun, by the way, is owned by News Corp, who are the sister company of Fox Corporation, who recently announced they will soon broadcast WWE Smackdown.

This thread is being shared again by people because of the #standingup stories being shared by victims of abuse and harrassment in pro-wrestling. While it makes for difficult reading, I recommend reading through them. A lot needs to change.

As with a lot of other types of events, gatherings and businesses, the way to make wrestling more safe is to make it more diverse. More women in senior roles and clear, transparent harassment and abuse safeguarding policies and procedures.

As fans, we need to ask for these things. And we need to ask for them to be published.

Also, a reminder where this thread left off: WWE claim that Ashley Massaro didn't tell anybody (including other wrestlers) about the rape in Iraq - she said it was an 'unusual pelvic exam'. If it were to turn out that she DID tell people, that would be quite a big thing.

It's a long shot, but if anybody that was there is able to say differently in terms of knowing what Ashley Massaro told people, please speak out - either publicly or speak privately to some of the people involved in #SpeakingOutMovement.