WrestleZone has learned exclusively there is enormous heat on WWE heel play-by-play announcer Michael Cole over his homophobic tweet directed at Josh Matthews. Even though WWE has given the impression the situation has been addressed, we have confirmed through multiple sources that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon felt Cole embarrassed the entire company, and many in World Wrestling Entertainment feel Cole has overstepped his bounds because he’s letting his push go to his head.
WWE and GLAAD announced a partnership on March 17 to try and put an end to bullying based on sexual orientation after a series of homophobic taunts was made by John Cena.
An official statement released by WWE after GLAAD came out again Cena’s remarks said, "WWE takes this issue very seriously, and has already spoken with our talent about these incidents. We are taking steps and working with GLAAD to ensure that our fans know that WWE is against bullying or discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation."
After WWE avoided a major controversy regarding Cena’s scripted comments, Michael Cole tweeted a one word message to Monday Night Raw announcer Josh Matthews, and the comment was picked up by TMZ.
Cole immediately removed the post, but it was posted on TMZ and picked up by media sources everywhere. You can’t hide what you’ve already posted, and Cole immediately went into spin mode and apologized on Twitter.
However, WWE still decided to comment on the matter, which was already spiraling out of control.
A rep for WWE told TMZ, "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."
At least two key insiders in WWE have told WrestleZone that if Cole wasn’t so prominently featured in the push for this year’s Wrestlemania against Jerry "The King" Lawler, he would have been fired by Executive Producer Kevin Dunn or Vince McMahon himself. No word on if Cole has seen Dunn or McMahon in person since the incident, or if he will see them for the first time in Chicago for the go-home edition of Monday Night Raw.
Update (3/28): For an exclusive update to the developing Michael Cole story, CLICK HERE.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
