Darren Young comes out as gay

[Honkey_Kong]

I didnlt know about the underage boy haha.
But that was then and this is now.
In today's world being gay is much more celebrated than in the past when it was shunned.
It SHOULDN'T make a difference in his unemployment.... but it will.

Plus, TNA would get rid of anyone...

It shouldn't be celebrated. Nobody's sexual orientation is grounds for celebration whether it be straight or gay. In fact, WWE should take the high ground and not even acknowledge it. They should let Darren make it or fail based on his own ability. They shouldn't carry him, because he's their gay poster-boy.

But you know, I bet you the WWE already knew of his orientation before his public coming out. That's probably why he's stuck around as long as he has. It's not because of his ability in the ring or his mic work.

 

[Dirk]

Coachman has gone on record as saying nobody really cares about sexuality and that there's pretty good odds that Young isn't the only wrestler in the locker room who's into guys I don't really think that the environment would be that bad.

While you raise a very good point, I think Coachman would HAVE to say that if he went on record with it. It would be stupid of him to call his boss a bigoted old man. Just going by the way that the WWE books most minorities and how it treats women, Vince just doesn't strike me as a very enlightened man. I'm not saying he's a homophobe, but I'm not saying he isn't.

 

[kingconor]

Sorry but if you couldn't tell Darren Young was gay, you need to pay attention. Kudos to him but why does everyone make such a big deal over it?

People coming out like it's the new trend. Why do people act like it's such an "inspiration" to be a pervert?

I don't go around flaunting my heterosexuality.

Anyway, I can see it now, PTP gets split, then WWE uses Black Cena as the face of BAStar

Also, I wonder how long until the WZ main page steals this story from the OP without giving credit

Is this for real? What universe are you on? And can I assume that the 'don't go round flaunting my heterosexuality' bit is code for 'I've never had a girlfriend' ? I don't see how Young has flaunted a damn thing simply by coming out. Does anyone accuse Daniel Bryan or John Cena for 'flaunting' their sexuality because they're with their girlfriends on Total Divas? Or Stephanie and HHH 'flaunting' their sexuality by appearing on Raw together? You've just posted one of the most stupid things I've ever read.

I do hope that WWE don't try to do an awful, stereotype gimmick for Young. In fact, continuing as normal with Prime Time Players is probably the best way to make it seem like it's not a big deal, though he can still do media appearances outside of that obviously. I wonder if the interviewer had some idea that Young was gay and that's why he asked the question about having an out wrestler.

 

[Danger Burger]

Sorry but if you couldn't tell Darren Young was gay, you need to pay attention. Kudos to him but why does everyone make such a big deal over it?

It's kind of a big deal because not too many athletes have the courage to come out. It can have adverse effects, especially if your boss or co-workers have something against it.

People coming out like it's the new trend. Why do people act like it's such an "inspiration" to be a pervert?

I don't go around flaunting my heterosexuality.

Uh, whos the pervert? I don't see anyone mentioning a pervert, let along calling one an inspiration.

And the guy wasn't flaunting anthing, he was answering a question that was asked of him.

 

[MizMark11]

I think this is pretty cool and I have to give Darren Young props about it. I can't even imagine what it would be like for him to keep that inside of him, but I'll bet he feels a little relieved now. I'm also happy to see that 99% of posters in this thread are accepting him. Yes, being gay is accepted by a majority of people these days, but this just shows how far we've come.

My thoughts on the character Darren Young aren't impacted by this. I'll still consider him one half of the Prime Time Players with decent in ring skills. However, my respect for the person has grown. I don't think WWE should push him just because he came out. I think it should be business as usual. Maybe have him doing something for GLAAD or something for Be A Star to show that people will accept you if you come out.

 

[closet_fan]

It really couldn't hurt his career. It's not like he's going to be main eventing Wrestlemania any time soon. I'm sure the WWE will just exploit him in front of the media as their token gay on the roster. That might mean a slight mid card push for him until the novelty of their gay wrestler wears off.

The problem he has though isn't that he's gay, it's just that he's not a good enough professional wrestler to ever make it past the lower mid-card. Let's not kid ourselves, Titus is carrying him right now.

I really don't think that any wrestler, athlete or celebrity should announce that they're gay. Quite frankly it's none of our business if somebody is or isn't. Their personal lives should remain private. In fact, beyond the sexual orientations of these guys, we as fans should respect their privacy and not peer in to their lives.

All that being said, Darren Young is going to probably live to regret publicly coming out. No matter what he does, he's always going to be "the gay wrestler." It'll haunt him especially if Vince pushes him. He'll never know for sure if he got his spot because of his ability and talent or if he got there so that Vince can show how multicultural he is by parading his gay wrestler.

Blame the media for that. I am sure a lot of people in the entertainment industry would rather they be known as "so-and-so" and not "the gay movie star" "the gay athlete", etc.

Most of the time it comes up in regular conversation. But then it snowballs into a big news story.

The only way for a famous person to keep their sexual orientation hidden is to "stay in the closet," which is completely unfair to them if they want to live an openly gay lifestyle.

 

[hatehabsforever]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the year is still 2013, is it not? Does anyone anywhere really care whatsoever about the sexual orientation of any professional wrestler? Are there fans or members of the WWE that would either promote him simply because he is gay, or halt any sort of a push for this reason? Sure, I guess it takes courage to come out of the closet in this manner, and I applaud him for doing so but personally, I really couldn't care less one way or the other.

At the end of the day, Young is still an average or even below average professional wrestler who has enjoyed very limited success. He's already been released once, and is currently on a tag team which I actually like, but which has not exactly set the wrestling world on fire. Ultimately, the Prime Time Players will break up, possibly feud with each other, and then go their own way as singles competitors. Once on his own, I don't see a particularly bright future for Darren Young. After they split, Young will likely regress into jobber status for a while, and will ultimately be future endeavoured. And I don't see his sexual orientation playing into this in any way shape or form.

I seriously doubt Darren Young will be persecuted by WWE or the members of the WWE Universe because he is gay, and I'm equally skeptical that he will be receiving a push any time in the future because of it. I doubt it is addressed in any manner whatsoever by WWE.

 

[Blade]

Good for Darren. Maybe it'll persuade other gay wrestlers to come out, cause there's probably several more out there, and I don't just mean in WWE. Sports in general is pretty far behind other entertainment industries in terms of its acceptance of gay people, so it's good when gay athletes decide to come out.

It does seem like something WWE will try to exploit, much like pushing Latino wrestlers for the Latino audience, or pushing black wrestlers for the black audience. I'm not saying Young with be pushed for a gay audience, but pushing a gay guy will get WWE some good PR, so I wouldn't put it past them. As long as he's not given a gimmick that exploits his sexual orientation, like the next Rico or something, it won't bother me that much.

Admittedly, he probably shouldn't be pushed because, gay or not, he's still not very good.

 

[Jaffa]

Maybe it is different being Australia but who really cares? I personally whether or not he is gay should be a sole reason for a push. I think you should get pushed if you are good at your job not because of what gender you sleep with.

 

[The Eighties]

Brave move by Darren Young, WWE can do something positive here if they simply just keep treating him exactly as they have and allow him to keep developing, any switch in gimmick is gonna feel forced and exploitative. I could see him becoming more involved with the Be A Star campaign though.

 

[RicSpade]

I personally think it is great that he came out of the closet so to speak. Pat Patterson really never came out publicly and said something... Many don't care how OJ came out to the world because he tried building a character around his lifestyle. And in terms of Kanyon god rest his soul he never really came out until he was no longer on TV. Darren Young in a way broke the mold because he in on High Profile Television, and this is a big step publicly for WWE showing support because now it helps bring in the gay demographic so to speak.

Darren may not be a pioneer but it is showing that essentially its ok to be who you are, and if others tend to follow I respect him for that. On another note he has essentially given himself a lock in staying in the WWE until his contract is out, because he could use the homosexual thing as a reason he was released so it works on all fronts.

 

[GelBrache]

You guys should read my post better. I never called Young a pervert. But why did he feel the need to tell anyone about his sexuality? But now since we do know, he will be pampered so he is not to be made upset because you know what will happen.
The only reason people come out this way is for the attention, nothing more.

Let's be real, if Darren gets a push the night after SummerSlam, you'll know why.

 

[HarrCame230]

Good for D-Young. Hopefully his coming out will not become a storyline for WWE. They have been known to make storylines from real life stories (ex. edge/matt hardy/lita).

Also very nice that D-Young is working with Be a star as well. Will give talk about sexual orientation a different look with someone who has come out, and is a wwe wrestler.

 

[enviousdominous]

For the record, Orlando came out as bi. Hence the recognition of Darren Young being the first openly gay WWE performer.

I applaud him for being brave enough to come out when he did and for being mature enough to announce it in the manner in which he did. He didn't make it into a publicity stunt or let it dominate the entire interview.

One thing I have to say about Wrestlezone, this is one of the few corners of the internet where it seems like the most intelligent and open-minded people share opinions. Pro-wrestling has a reputation for attracting the exact opposite kind of audience. I just have to spend a few minutes browsing a serious "news" website to see what the worst forms of humanity have decided to share with the world in regard to literally ANY news story. A cat fell down a well warrants a week long war of nasty words over gun control.

Darren Young's only hang up for me has always been how goofy he comes across when he talks. He's an amazing athlete who is paying his dues in full every time he's put on tv. This might give him more to say and this help him with his mic work.

The biggest surprise for me is that John Cena gave his support and offered some very poignant thoughts on the matter. Sure, he loves to be a part of a good news story. I don't think he's trying to share the spotlight on this one, admitting that his older brother is gay couldn't have been very easy either. I think that the fans and the WWE higher ups will be more accepting of Darren Young because Cena gave his support.




Posted from Wrestlezone.com App for Android

 

[BaconBits]

I'd bet most of the folks in WWE already knew this, based on the ease in which he answered the question asked of him. I don't think it's a big deal at all.

I doubt they turn this into an angle, unless the have Ryback's "bully" character go full ****** into "gay bashing". That would be a trainwreck of shit PR waiting to happen.

 

[sufyaan05]

Nice little publicity stunt there by D young.

He won't be endeavored any time soon and will make extra money through PR appearances.

Very smart move indeed.

 

[Danger Burger]

You guys should read my post better. I never called Young a pervert.

You're exact words were "Why do people act like it's such an "inspiration" to be a pervert?" The only topic in this thread is homosexuality. Whether you were saying that directly at Young or not, you practically said that being gay makes you a pervert. And since Young is gay, you basically called Young a pervert.

But why did he feel the need to tell anyone about his sexuality?

The interviewer asked if being gay could affect your career in the WWE. Young answered the question, and gave the source of his opinion. Its not like he planned ahead and called a press conference.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

Good for him. If he a) doesn't bring his underage boyfriend backstage and b) acquires talent from somewhere, I see a long future for him in WWE.

 

[enviousdominous]

You guys should read my post better. I never called Young a pervert. But why did he feel the need to tell anyone about his sexuality? But now since we do know, he will be pampered so he is not to be made upset because you know what will happen.
The only reason people come out this way is for the attention, nothing more.

Let's be real, if Darren gets a push the night after SummerSlam, you'll know why.

Oh good grief, cognitive dissonance strikes again.

You suggested that he is a pervert for mentioning that he is a homosexual. Nobody misunderstood your message, don't try to make semantics a part of your argument when you don't even know what they are.

Darren Young was asked if he thought that it would be difficult for a gay man to make it in pro-wrestling. As part of his answer he let them know that he's gay and that he's a regular performer, so obviously it can happen. He didn't set it up like a huge announcement or gloat over it, he mentioned it when it was warranted.

Kid mark my words, your own prejudice doesn't help remedy ant assumed prejudice on part of anyone who might give Darren Young special favors for being gay. Before you go on the record claiming that this is a bad thing because his lifestyle will be treated like a crutch, check yourself and try to figure out why it is that you're only willing to assume the worst possible outcome of this.


Posted from Wrestlezone.com App for Android

 

[THTRobtaylor]

While I didn't care much for Young as a wrestler, I'm happy that someone had the guts to come out, especially in these times, and say "Yep I'm gay." I'm not sure how some of the wrestlers will handle it, but I do hope a majority come up to him, shake his hand and say congrats. There are so many homophobes in this country it's ridiculous. I give Young tremendous kudos for doing this and following in the footsteps of Patterson, Jordan and Kanyon (RIP).



To a majority it's no big deal, but there are still a lot who are against it. Former 49er Kwame Harris came out after his career was over. Chris Culliver openly bashed him and any other gay guy still in the closet.



Hopefully, the WWE embraces it. While also telling homophobe Jay Briscoe to go F himself for his Twitter rant against homosexuals.

Times have changed since Chris Kanyon came out. He says his career was ruined by his openness. Jordan is still wrestling, although I don't know how he would have been accepted in the WWE locker room if he came out while still there. Didn't he come out after he left?

In any case, hopefully Young's journey is the same as Jordan's and not like Kanyon's.

Jordan's case was different he was openly Bi, but reports of the time had him somewhat flaunting it, bringing a male companion on the road. While he absolutely had the right to, it perhaps was too much for the locker room at the time and he didn't last long afterward.

The cynic would say he's just saved his job or guaranteed a push... I don't think so, nor has he just dropped a bomb no one in WWE was prepared for... They will have known about this, known it'll likely get out and Young probably decided to just get it over with if the chance came...

Will others now come out... Likely, out of 90 or so guys and gals in NXT or the E then someone else is bound to but the danger now is people look for it or expect it. It's a personal thing, Young's family etc already knew clearly, TMZ or a sheet outing someone who got spotted may not be outing someone who is ready...Indeed, Cena's comments indicated his bro might only have come out recently, hence it still being a difficult thing for his family.

It helps that WWE has Pat Patterson they can call on to advise them, while he was never "in the closet" as such, he also endured a lot of hate and media intrusionn, so he will no doubt have talked through with Young about what to expect as while most will back him, there will no doubt be religious/PTC types and homophobes who will deride him and the E. It also puts a lot of people in the biz on notice, Briscoes comments were misguided but I doubt they would stop him being hired as all talent will likely have to attend a course... But if guys like that's views really don't work after thay then they, rather than DY will find themselves with heat, losing chances or even fired.

The E has always had Patterson as a very influential man and regarded as one of the boys, the older guys will have passed that respect on so of all the places a newly out athlete could work for, the E is probably the best.

 

[willross]

This will not be exploited unless DY wants to exploit it. Orlando Jordan came up with his over the top wanna-be Goldust ripoff all by himself.

WWE will keeping this professional because they don't care. Vince McMahon's most trusted confidant is Pat Patterson, a gay man.

And even if you people are dumb enough to believe that WWE and its employees have a problem with this, then I guess you are dumb enough to believe that John Cena clearly won't let anything negative come of this (assuming you are dumb enough to think he has that kind of stroke) due to his very own brother being homosexual as well.

Its 2013, not 1813. If you have a problem with someone being gay than you are a moron and probably have deep rooted sexual insecurities.

 

[KnowYoRole]

Good for him, but lol @ the description on his twitter account

"As comfortable in the VIP section as he is in the ring, Darren Young’s life revolves around three things — money, women and wrestling."

Guess not.

 

[GelBrache]

I am in no way, shape, or form predjudice. You're just looking for an insult to call me because I don't agree with your opinions.

I said kudos to Darren, I didn't wish anything bad upon him lol.

If Titus' alter ego is Ruffus "Pancake" Patterson, I wonder what Young's is.

 

[Remy LaCroix]

Jesus, was I the only person who thought that interviewer was the most annoying person they've ever listened too?? "Man, like, man" was he Irish? Do many people still use the word iota??

Peter might have come off a little annoying with all the praise.

I don't see a reason to give Darren Young any props. He's mediocre and the only future I see in him is future Divas champion (eh?) Or he can continue to hone his craft for the next year or two and continue with the PTP schtick 'cause that's all he really has going for him right now.

If Titus' alter ego is Ruffus "Pancake" Patterson, I wonder what Young's is.

Are you insinuating what I think you're insinuating?

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

I am in no way, shape, or form predjudice. You're just looking for an insult to call me because I don't agree with your opinions.

I said kudos to Darren, I didn't wish anything bad upon him lol.

If Titus' alter ego is Ruffus "Pancake" Patterson, I wonder what Young's is.

Lol no,you are exactly what everyone thought you were. Either consciously or not. You probably said it, fully meaning it. Then others posted responses, reminding you that it's 2013 and your hate talk show host esque words are pretty disgusting. The word "pervert" in no way belongs in any response to this story. None.