By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Ring of Honor booker and wrestler Marty Scurll responded to an allegation made against him as part of the #speakingout movement.
I am aware that a young woman has bravely come forward with her account of sexual abuse by some members of the wrestling community in the UK 5 years ago, a community that I was a part of.
Although I truly believe that our encounter that evening was consensual, and the fact that the encounter was legal, is almost not the point. I understand that she now views our encounter as part of a bigger problem within the wrestling community.
What concerns me at this moment is that from what I have been reading, she is a fan of wrestling and was made to feel unsafe within that community. That is not acceptable. I also understand that people have been attacking her on social media, and I implore you to please stop. She has a right to her voice and it is our responsibility to listen.
Powell’s POV: The accusation against Scurll is from a woman who says she was 16 years-old and “incredibly drunk” when she and Scurll had a sexual encounter in 2015. Her full account is available below. Scurll’s claim that “the encounter was legal” is accurate strictly from an age standpoint, as the legal age of consent in England is 16. On a side note, I find it interesting that Scurll opted to address the matter, yet Ring of Honor, the company that employs him, has yet to issue a public statement regarding the #speakingout movement or allegations made against Scurll and at least two other contracted talents.
#speakingout MARTY SCURLL
He sexually abused me when I was 16 and intoxicated. pic.twitter.com/MolRM0j28I— kitten (@mystickttn) June 22, 2020
— Marty Scurll (@MartyScurll) June 23, 2020
Scrull was 28 in 2016. She was 16. Legal or not, it is gross and wrong.
I wonder what the conservative Sinclair Broadcasting company thinks of a man in charge of one of their television shows preying on a drunk 16-year old? Stay class Marty!
It’s neither gross nor wrong for two adults (however defined in a particular society) to hook up. If he actually raped or otherwise took advantage of her, he should be punished for it. If he didn’t, then she needs to not drag his name into it. Their age at the time, since both were legal, is irrelevant.
I suppose you are right in its legality, but there are plenty of things that may be legal that are wrong. Sex between a drunk child and 28 year old man is, in my opinion, wrong.
You seem okay with making no distinctions between ethics and laws, but I am eager to hear if ROH and Sinclair agree with you.
Problem is, ethics are subjective and laws aren’t. Like you, I find it gross, but that doesn’t mean everyone does. There are plenty of morons out there who still find homosexuality ‘gross’. That’s why we have laws – there has to be something black and white for this kind of stuff to be judged on. If it was indeed consensual, then according to the law he did nothing wrong.
“I understand that she now views our encounter as part of a bigger problem within the wrestling community.”
And therein lies the problem. Why is it suddenly an issue 5 years down the line? Redefining things by current woke bullshit standards is not okay. If it was consensual then, it’s consensual now. If it was abuse then, it’s abuse now. That doesn’t change.