The now famous hashtag #SpeakingOut has shaken the wrestling world over the past week and has given courage to numerous victims to come forward and tell their stories. Now after given a sense of empowerment, these victims choose to not only share their experiences with the world but also in many situations have chosen to name their offender; causing that individual to now pay for the damage he or she caused.
The latest wrestler to find himself the center of a controversy is WWE Raw Superstar Austin Theory. In a Twitter posting by user name @taytumangell, who is identified as a 13 year old girl, she stats that she has several Snapchat conversations with Theory after the two met at a show. According to Tay, Theory added her on Snapchat. The user also provides a photo of the two that was taken at the same show. Tay goes on to state that Theory allegedly sent her several inappropriate Snapchat messages that made her feel uncomfortable then Theory got angry with her when she saved the messages. According to Tay, Theory stated he wanted to keep the messages their secret.
It is worth noting that Tay does not provide any photos of any messages between her and Theory. She goes on to say that Theory has now blocked her. At this time there is no physical evidence against Theory other than the statements from this Twitter account and the screen shots provided. While I do believe it is always important to believe an individual when they come forward with an accusation, especially one of this magnitude, it is also just as important to remember we do have a presumption of innocence in this country.
While we may not have any physical evidence of any wrongdoing or any inappropriate communication between Theory and this 13 year old girl, I would question Theory as to why he thought it would be appropriate to request a Snapchat with a minor to begin with? An adult male conversating with a 13-year-old child, even innocently, is in itself inappropriate and is cause for concern.
At this time the WWE has not taken any disciplinary action against Austin Theory. It has been their position in the past to allow their Superstars to handle their own private business matters and to not involve the company unless the matter becomes criminal and appropriate charges are filed.
