Posted in: Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: capitalism, gerald brisco, Vince McMahon, wrestling, wwe

WWE Begins Firing Furloughed Employees, Starting with Gerald Brisco

Published Thu, 10 Sep 2020 11:36:47 -0500

Hey. Do you smell that stench? It's the rotting corpse of American exceptionalism swiftly decomposing into a pile of maggots hatched from the eggs of unfettered capitalism. Back in April, WWE laid off or furloughed dozens of employees and independent contractors, right during the worst part of a global pandemic, and at the start of an economic downturn still going on today and likely to last into 2021 at least. They did this despite being on track for record profits, despite being a week away from doling out millions in stock dividends, a third of which went to Vince McMahon himself, that could have paid all of the salaries of laid off or furloughed employees into 2021. The second round of stock dividends released later could have extended that to 2022.

But the ability to share positive numbers at the quarterly shareholder meetings trumped any loyalty WWE might have toward its employees, even some who have dedicated their lives to the company, working there for over three decades, like Gerald Brisco. Brisco was amongst the employees furloughed in April, and now, it seems, he's the first to publicly reveal he's been permanently fired.

"Ok, want to get this out the right way," Brisco tweeted. "Last night I received a call from @wwe Chairman Of The board @VinceMcMahon to let me know after 36 years of dedication to @wwe i an no longer needed. I'm ok with this. I will still be around to help talent. More info will follow. Thanks"

Brisco may be okay with it. At 73-years-old, he can retire and enjoy the rest of his life. But that doesn't mean we have to be okay with it. WWE's cutthroat lack of humanity during the pandemic era, throwing its own workers to the wolves while raking in profits, is a disgusting example of the corporate greed that has been destroying America for decades and that has seen Wall Street get even richer during the pandemic while everyone else suffers. As a corporation, WWE's only loyalty is to profits, and that's legally sound even if morally abhorrent. But to all of the WWE fans out there who remain loyal to WWE through all of their frustrating creative decisions and revolting financial ones, I have to wonder what the breaking point will be.

Brisco added, "I appreciate all the well wishes. I would also like to add that I need a little space, so everyone asking for an interview at this time I need to step back, take a deep breath just remember I have no anger, just emotions at this time."

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