Vince McMahon and Taylor Swift are the Most Controversial Figures in Sports Right Now

And why only one of them deserve to be.

I love professional wrestling. Anyone who has even the most casual of acquaintances with me is aware of my fandom. The blend of sports and performance art, dubbed “sports entertainment” in modern terminology, I still enjoy as much as when I discovered it as an adolescent. As I’m writing this I’m wearing a CM Punk T-shirt.

It is because of this deep, abiding love of pro wrestling that when the news broke last week regarding the Chairman of WWE, Vince McMahon, I was honestly gutted by the news. Many lifelong fans I spoke to were. It wasn’t because fans of WWE have a romanticized view of Vince McMahon; any fan of wrestling was well aware Vince could be a ruthless businessman, a bully, and in general an asshole. I still remember when Harry Potter fans were horrified to learn J.K. Rowling’s views on the trans community thinking to myself “welcome to the club, I’ve disliked the person who created the thing I love for decades”. The biggest feud in wrestling history, Stone Cold vs. Mr. McMahon, became a pop culture phenomenon on the strength of Stone Cold beating the living shit out of Mr. McMahon every week. That singular concept, a drunken redneck pummeling the boss of WWE, made Vince become a billionaire. When I say every wrestling fan has a complicated relationship with Vince McMahon, it is not hyperbole.

But even for the jaundiced view many fans had of Vince as a person, pretty much every wrestling fan I know was shocked and repulsed by a 67-page lawsuit filed last week against McMahon. It alleges, in graphic detail and with a wealth of receipts, that Vince sexually abused and trafficked a young woman in his office. A woman who had recently lost both her parents and therefore had been in a particularly vulnerable state. Among the atrocities she endured, there was defecation, non-consensual group sex, and dildos Mr. McMahon named after some of his wrestlers. Thankfully, Vince resigned from his position, and he is no longer involved with WWE.

It’s a little bizarre, not only a WWE without Vince McMahon, but the last remnant of the territory days of wrestling is no longer involved with it. But overall, I’m extremely happy to see anyone capable of that sort of behavior no longer involved in the business. As I said at the start, I love pro wrestling, and the last thing I want to see is someone’s worst experience being tied to something I have such a passion for. I am sure there will be an investigation, and whomever else had any involvement with the situation should also face similar consequences.

I decided to go on social media to see some of the responses to this rather significant and troubling news from within the world of sports. And much to my surprise, I saw many posts being critical of Vince……but I also saw just as many people outraged over another controversial figure in the sports world.

Taylor Swift.

Whoo boy. People are angry at Taylor Swift. Vivek Ramaswamy has proposed conspiracy theories about her. Donald Trump loyalists are erupting with anger at the IDEA that she will endorse Joe Biden over Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Meaning she has not endorsed anyone, but the mere potential is infuriating them. Multiple other media personalities and online voices have expressed similar objections to the music icon.

I was intrigued. I had no idea what she had done to draw a level of ire equal to that of one Vince McMahon. I mean, Vince committed numerous acts of sexual abuse. He preyed on a vulnerable person. He then had her sign an NDA and agreed to pay $3 million of the WWE’s money to buy her silence. He then broke the NDA when he failed to pay any more after the first million. He also has over $15 million in hush payments he has made to other women as well. I just had to know, what did that conniving bitch Taylor Swift do to draw an equal measure of visceral hatred through various online channels?

Well, it turns out she’s dating a player in the NFL. And she has been attending his games because she wants to be supportive of her boyfriend.

The audacity.

One of these two people abused his employees and used company funds in an attempt to protect himself. He almost destroyed the livelihood of every talent that works under him to feed his own ego. There’s a young woman at the heart of this story who will never be the same because of what she experienced. His family has to endure the painful consequences, as does an entire roster who trusted him. For every wrestling fan this past week, there is a sense of betrayal that has occurred because of the actions of this man.

The other is the biggest pop star in the world going out of her way to celebrate her guy’s achievements with him. As a result, his team is experiencing sold out arenas and it is bringing new fans to football. What a monster. And if you go onto Facebook, X, or any other social platform, these two distinctly different individuals are receiving the same measure of vitriol.

These were the two biggest controversies to emerge from the world of sports this week. Only one of them has any business being a controversy.