Michael Cole, the announcer for World
Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), apologized Saturday for tweeting a gay
slur.
Cole appears on all major WWE
programming, including Raw, NXT,
Smackdown and pay-per-view broadcasts.
The play-by-play announcer tweeted
“faggot” to fellow announcer Josh Mathews, according to the
Baltimore Sun's blog Ring Posts.
Cole subsequently deleted the message
and apologized: “I apologize to any and all who were offended by my
tweet toward young Josh Mathews. It was obviously not meant the way
it was taken.”
And a few minutes later he messaged to
his more than 23,000 followers: “I was ordered to apologize I said
I am sorry because I am. Now can I get back to being a character
again please?”
The incident comes after a series a
“homophobic taunts” by John Cena caught the attention of media
watchdog the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).
In February, the wrestler taunted
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson with a rap song making fun of Johnson's
movie roles. A week later, Cena suggested that fellow wrestler “The
Miz” was secretly in love with his male wrestling partner.
Saying it “strongly valued” its
LGBT fans, the WWE apologized for the incidents and announced it
would partner with GLAAD in an anti-bullying campaign.