By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

On Saturday, WWE announcer Michael Cole tweeted a one-word homophobic slur directed at fellow announcer Josh Mathews before removing the post.

After removing the post, Cole wrote on Twitter, "I apologize to any and all who were offended by my tweet toward young Josh Mathews. It was obviously not meant the way it was taken.

"I was not ordered to apologize I said I am sorry because I am. Now can I get back to being a character again please?"

TMZ.com drew attention to Cole's Twitter post and WWE's recent partnership with GLAAD to address homophobic-related content on their TV show. WWE issued a statement to TMZ on Cole's post:

"WWE has alerted GLAAD to the situation and spoken to Michael Cole about his post. He has removed it and apologized for using hateful language. Michael will be included in the training session being done by GLAAD. WWE takes this very seriously and is against discrimination of any kind based on sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, or other."

Caldwell's Analysis: I believe Cole made the situation worse by issuing an empty non-apology with that "if I offended anyone" verbiage. It essentially means 'I'm sorry that I got caught, but otherwise, I wouldn't have been sorry for the actual offense.' WWE has given Cole a lot of leeway with his heel announcer character, but Cole didn't handle it well here at all, especially asking if he could "get back into character" after his comment.

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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