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WWE News
WWE News: Public outcry begins against Linda McMahon's board of education hiring Jan 14, 2009 - 10:56:34 AM
The governor of Connecticut appointed WWE CEO Linda McMahon to the state's board of education on Monday, prompting questions about whether McMahon is fit to serve in the education field.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell pointed to McMahon's business acumen as a reason for hiring, but "The Day" newspaper in Connecticut openly criticized the hire.
"Our disagreement is not with Ms. McMahon's business abilities, but rather her line of work," writes The Day. "Ms. McMahon has every right to run a business that sends such a message, but given her line of work we believe the governor erred in recommending her for a seat on the state school board."
The newspaper points to WWE's programming content - and the messages sent to children through that content - as the basis for their disagreement.
From The Day article: "Some lessons a child might learn from watching a WWE event: Being a violent bully is cool. Smashing someone over the head with a metal chair won't cause serious injury. Women are sex objects and attracted to the most brutish men. It's entertaining to make fun of people."
The very things highlighted from this article are where PARENTS are
supposed to come into the picture to teach kids right from wrong.
This is another example of someone with space on a newspaper using a bully
pulpit complete with the antiquated argument about children being
influenced by things parents don't like. Yet when it comes down to it, the
more interesting story for their rag is how big bad wrestling is
infiltrating the school system.
The whining will die down soon enough.
Chad
14 Jan 2009, 07:38
Dixie Carter would never accept a position on the board of education in
Tenneessee and that's what makes TNA the best!
TNA 4Ever and 4Life.
Gerard
14 Jan 2009, 07:56
Dixie Carter would never be appointed to anything due to her name being an
adjective variant of the male genitalia.
What makes TNA the best as a matter on interest?
Dan
14 Jan 2009, 08:17
I think Linda's getting a raw (no pun intended) deal from her critics here.
Everyone knows here role in WWE is very limited, she's maybe on TV a few
times a year, and she's not near as over-the-top as her husband.
And there's no way Dixie Carter would draw this much scrutiny because no
one would know who she was.
cbh
14 Jan 2009, 08:50
Using these idiots logic lets ban any entertainer from serving on any sort
of board because of the supposed messages in their work.
What a ridiculous premise. I agree with the guy above who said it's an
antiquated argument, from like the 50s. It's like people who still talk
about the Domino Theory of Communism. Is the Governor of California a bad
role model because he killed people in movies? Is Denzel Washington a bad
example to the African-American community because he took the law into his
own hands in "Man on Fire"? It's entirely up to the parents to explain to
their children that this isn't real life- it's a fucking TV show. A
chairshot to the head is alot more humane (storyline-wise, not physically)
than what goes on in The Sopranos or 24. The Bush administration, who
broke the law and committed torture in real life, had to actually ask the
producers of 24 to tone down the level of torture on their show. Does that
now render Keifer Sutherland a pariah for the rest of his life because Jack
Bauer did some questionable things? Who are these morons who think Linda
McMahon cannot be an advocate for education because the company she runs
has a TELEVSION SHOW that is targeted towards the same people who watch The
Sopranos, and 24 and a whole host of other awesome, violent, mysoginistic
shows? If people involved in the production of a television show are so
awful and send such a horrible message to children and women, why doesn't
the Make-A-Wish foundation bar WWE superstars? Because it would be insane
to label a human being by the character the play on TV.
bill torres
14 Jan 2009, 10:47
Justin and jfk are right on the mark.I was like 5yrs.old when my mom said
to me while i was watching wrestling,thats fake.If i had ever imitated
anything i wouldve paid the consequences.By the way a newspaper disagreeing
is not PUBLIC OUTCRY.Nice try guys.
Luis
14 Jan 2009, 12:01
TNA and Dixie Carter sucks!! My friend Bill Torres agrees!! Verdad que si
mijo!!
Robert
14 Jan 2009, 12:31
Isn'that discriminating against Linda.
Chad
14 Jan 2009, 12:40
Luis,
Me and the rest of the TNArmy crossed the line, why don't you?
TNA 4Ever and 4Life.
Reid
14 Jan 2009, 13:14
"Dixie Carter would never accept a position on the board of education in
Tenneessee and that's what makes TNA the best!"
If Dixie Carter does indeed spell "Tenneessee" with an extra E rather than
the correct spelling, "Tennessee" then I fully support her not serving on
any board of education.
Jeff
14 Jan 2009, 13:20
Who cares, you all sound dumb. Lindas hot
Luis
14 Jan 2009, 13:51
Chad,
Me is loyal to WWE and I trully wish TNA to come on up as a company BUT
they need to get rid of the "has-beens" hurting their company.
I live in Tampa,FL and trust me that I can go every week to Impact but I
won't until they get their act together.
1) Many "wrestlers" are at TNA to collect a check and do not deliver any
type of performance other than mic work.
the same thing can be said about WWE but at least when I watch Raw I enjoy
most of the 2 hour show.
Am I wrong in hating TNA?
Nope!!
Take care Chad!
Luis
14 Jan 2009, 13:57
An idea for TNA to move up...
1) Re-do the entire Impact set...WWE has a Hi-def LED set that looks very
nice to the viewer.
***Remember..visual presentation is important!
I know they work under Sound Stage 21 at Universal Studios but come on
guys!!
Get rid of wrestlers that cannot produce results!! Really!!
Focus on quality matches and less mic work.
Somebody from this blog take record of actual wrestling and mic
time/skits/promo's
The same goes for WWE where sometimes and entrance is longer altogether
than the actual wrestling match
Dan
14 Jan 2009, 15:25
Bill Torres-
Sorry man, your mom lied to you. Wrestling is not fake. Predetermined,
yes, but fake, no. Sure, they hold back a little on the punches and know
how to "fall", but to me it's not fake, not with the injuries and beatings
some guys get.
Dev
14 Jan 2009, 16:42
Dan's right,calling wrestling fake is like calling shakespeare fake...A
different term if you please.
AA Norman
15 Jan 2009, 03:03
The press is missing something important. Kids LOVE Mrs. McMahon's product.
Parents can freely hold "No watching WWE programs until you do your
homework" over their kid's head and it WORKS!
Does the press thing Linda's going to use this position to incorporate
wrestling into the classrooms or something? Pbbbth. Blow raspberries at
that idea. She has a product that reaches a younger audience in a way that
most people in entertainment would DIE for. I think she has something to
contribute to the discussion when talking about reaching children.
J. Pitts
15 Jan 2009, 08:41
Linda McMahon has had a hand in some very questionable programming over the
years, so The Day, or any of her detractors have some very valid concerns
when it comes to her holding a position of authority.
I'm not saying that she shouldn't get the job, but at the very least she
questioned about these decisions.
Let's not be quick to paint a halo around the McMahon's just because of our
affinity for their product. The McMahon's have done some very seedy things
in order to pop a rating and are now seeing the ramifications of such
decisions.
Then we have to hold the same standard to every Hollywood producer,
director and actor that has put questionable content on their programming
to ensure higher ratings. It's an insane argument. Nobody is saying that
using necrophilia or hinting at rape is the appropriate thing to do, but
the McMahons and the WWE are not the only people who do this. Again, The
Sopranos completely glorified the mob and the use of excessive violence.
Should David Chase and the executives at HBO be barred from ever being on a
board that deals with education? Of course not, because it's a fucking TV
show.
J. Pitts
15 Jan 2009, 09:09
The Sopranos isn't aimed at kids nor does it have kids in attendance when
these things are happening.
Eddie
15 Jan 2009, 09:42
News flash for liberal pussies: Being a violent bully is cool. Smashing
someone over the head with a metal chair won't cause serious* injury. Women
are sex objects and attracted to the most brutish men. It's entertaining to
make fun of people.
*No worse than the damaged to one's IQ from reading The Day.
The average RAW viewer is well over 13 years old. The average PPV
purchaser is also well over 13 years old. Any questionable concept or
storyline the WWE has used that can be cited as an attempt to pop up
ratings has been before they have made their recent turn towards PG-rated
content. Any content prior to 2008 was most certainly not directed towards
the same audience that watches Dora the Explorer. I believe the TV rating
had it at TV-14 LV (language & violence) for pretty much the entire time TV
ratings were placed on TV shows. If parents choose to bring their six-year
old child to a WWE event, as mine did, that's the parents own judgement.
The WWE does not require or force anyone to watch their TV show or attend
their live events. If the Sopranos was filmed live in front of 20,000
people, you can be rest assured some parents would bring their pre-teen
children to watch the show and it's rated MA. And because it's not aimed
at children, doesn't mean children haven't seen it. And that's the exact
same thing as the WWE. If you read wrestling websites when they report on
ratings, the one demographic that gets the most attention is 18-25 year old
males, or 18-34 year old males, not 5-8 year old children. Maybe we can
revist this argument when WGN has WWE Superstars on Saturday morning- then
we check out how the WWE directly markets their product to a group that
will almost certainly be little children. You really don't have much of an
argument.
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The governor of Connecticut appointed WWE CEO Linda McMahon to the state's board of education on Monday, prompting questions about whether McMahon is fit to serve in the education field.
