News: Fans Petition against Johnny Gillmen

[Tyler Jacobs]

Recently IWF Superstar Johnny Gillmen had an outburst on the social media outlet Twitter which caused quite an uproar within the Irish community, as he used a racial slur aimed at the irish people while sending a tweet at irish decent IWF wrestler Nighthawk. The tweet itself was never deleted, and though Johnny did apologise, it has been retweeted and replied to several times by fans, and wrestlers alike. Needless to say, it has caused more of a problem than Mr Gillmen may have realised.

Almost overnight a petition has shown up on change.org for IWF to suspend or even fire Johnny Gillmen for his actions, with several thousand signatures already, and the petition is currently being shared all over social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

We here caught up with on of the IWF Superstars who responded to Johnny's tweet to ask for his thoughts on this petition:

(A video of a new reporter rushing up to Spike Kane getting out of his truck in his training gear is shown as they thrust a microphone in his face, the video is edited so the questions aren't shown, just the response.)

Spike Kane: "Look, Johnny is the kind of guy who wears his heart on his sleeve. He's always had a problem with his mouth getting him into trouble. He's in a world where he's surrounded by superior athletes, by people who have trained their entire lives for this, so his mouth is his best weapon. I genuinely believe Johnny didn't mean any harm, I think he simply was hurt, and reached into his mind for a word that could hurt Tristan and he's remembered this word that caused so much hate, so he lashed out."

(There's a beep, as we cut to later in the "interview")

Spike Kane: "No, in all honesty, I don't think Johnny needs to be suspended. We have our own honour code in this business. Johnny went out and apologised, Tristan accepted it, is it OK? No....not really, did it piss me off? Of course....but it wasn't directed at me. Johnny'll get a few extra digs in the ring, that's how we deal with these things, but at the end of the day we're a family, and we forgive and forget."

(Spike waves away the camera)

More on this story, as and when it develops.


((OOC: if you would like me to add your characters behind the scenes takes on this STORY please pm me a short news take and I'll add it to these news story.))

[Masao Akiyama]

(We find a camera being Shoved in Devlin Raines' Face and once again we cut to Devlin's responses)

Devlin Raine: "People say stupid stuff all the time, Gillman had the bad fortune of staying it on a platform where everyone could see it, look Talk to Spike Kane, Talk to Nighthawk , Hell Talk to Mcfly or Shea I'm only First generation and I always Idnentifided myself as Chicago first."

(It looks like Devlin Has been Informed of Spike's Comments as we find Devlin chuckling and shaking his his head)

Devlin Raine: "Looks like me and Spike Agree on somethin' Do I agree with what JJ said? Hell no! But thing is folk have been using that word for decades, centuries to dig at the Irish. He apologized Hawk accpeted it But you can garun-damn-tee JJ will get somethin' for it. It's how the bussiness works. Will he suspended heck no,he said a stupid thing if anything the resulting social media backlack and Gillmen Memes the fans are doing will more than Make up for it."

(Devlin points inside the building and smirks after another beep)

Devlin: "Stop fishin'I'm going training, later gator."

Fin

[Tyler Jacobs]

(We find Fiona McFly walking out of a gate and onto the concourse of the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Sporting her Wisconsin alumnus shirt--in "enemy" territory no less--we see her propping her hair up into a bun as an on-screen graphic reads "COURTESY - FOX NEWS.")

Fiona McFly: It's an unfortunate situation, it really is. I'm from Northern Ireland, my father's family dates back a few centuries, where most were either political officeholders or proud military servicemen. So it comes as no surprise that, originally, I was really upset and tore into JJ in my journal the other night, using language that I won't repeat on Fox News.

(Fiona chuckled slightly as she rolled her carry-on bags toward the baggage claim area.)

Fiona McFly: That being said...JJ has a voice. A bit unpolished, yes...but he has a VOICE, and that's the only mechanism he has in getting his message across. Do I agree with what he called Tristan? No...but fact of the matter is people like Tristan and a handful of others in the wrestling establishment have, quite frankly, made numerous attempts to keep him silent or, worse yet, deride him 'cos of his lack of formailised wrestling experience. I mean God's sakes...I feel JJ's pain--I, too, have little in the way of formal training aside from miniscule self-defence plus my experiences working with my husband...

(We flash to a later part of Fiona's statement.)

Fiona McFly: ...metaphorically speaking, JJ, in wrestling, comes as close to President Trump in politics as I can safely say. Mr. Trump had no experience in the political field NOR military service, yet here he is in the [expletive muted] White House. Apologies for the choice of words there, but that's all I CAN say. JJ got his start writing wrestling journals in 2003, but he wanted more but nobody would train him. So he's had to train informally by himself for this job for years despite having sight in only one eye, and that should be applauded, not derided. He works his tail off and wears his heart like a badge of honour.

Reporter (voice off-screen): Should Mr. Gillmen be fired or suspended for his remarks?

Fiona McFly: If JJ's fired or suspended from IWF, then I will walk out that [expletive muted] door with him. He's more than a travel partner on so many fronts. He...is my friend, a rock I can lean on for laughs and comfort. He just wants to bring joy to his fanbase and, more importantly, to his family. Yet he's a human being, like I am; he's not to be propped up like he's some larger than life super-god or something like that, with some grandiose moral code attached to him. He's human, he makes mistakes...but if he goes, *I* go. Full stop.

(Fiona continues marching towards the baggage claim area as the Fox News camera follows her, reporters shouting in all directions.)