Jon Alba of Spectrum Sports 360 in Florida reports that at a Orange County Board of County Commissioner meeting, a WWE employee identifying themselves as “John” indicated that the employees are being “forced to work” TV tapings despite stay at home order.
At Tuesday's Orange County Board of County Commissioners meeting, a #WWE employee named "John" submitted public comment they're being "forced to work" TV tapings despite stay at home orders. Says he's unable to speak out and feels he will be fired if he approaches his higher-ups. pic.twitter.com/UJTvX1RGc7
— Jon Alba (@JonAlba) April 21, 2020
The comment went on to state that he was concerned that if he talked to his higher-ups that he’d be fired. The company was deemed an “essential business” by the state of Florida and resumed with live shows this past week. WWE insists that anyone that does not feel comfortable during this time would not be forced into work and it would not have a negative impact on their career.
Notably, WWE performers are not employees but contracted workers. Roman Reigns decided not to perform at WrestleMania due to concerns that he might be susceptible to COVID-19. It would seem that this person might be someone behind the scenes that would require close contact with others.
Regarding these suspected employee complaint rumors: from a direct source in the know…
— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) April 21, 2020
Exact quote: “they have not FORCED anyone to work during this time.”
Payout Perspective:
We don’t know the veracity of the comment or if the Orange County Board of County Commissioners has any say on addressing the concern. But if we assume that the statement made by “John” is true, this has to be troubling for the WWE and other sports as it seeks to move forward to some sort of normalcy. With the company laying off over 20 performers and staff, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that the WWE would let go of anyone complaining about the conditions. Even though an unpopular opinion, this type of stand is helpful to shed light on what is currently going on.
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