FTR on Raising Money For Black Lives Matter and Becoming More Educated After Being ‘Ignorant’

FTR discussed their support of the Black Lives Matter movement and how they’ve worked to educate themselves after being “ignorant” regarding the movement in a new interview with Wrestling Inc. The AEW stars auctioned off some ring gear via eBay and donated $4,000 to a black-owned business in Asheville, North Carolina last month. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:

Harwood on their support of the movement: “I hope that it goes beyond pro wrestling. Obviously, I hope that it encompasses pro wrestling but it was something I felt really strongly about because I don’t think I was educated enough to understand it up until this point. Both Cash and myself felt really bad that we, not consciously, but subconsciously…”

Harwood on Wheeler saying they ‘were ignorant’: “Yeah, very, very ignorant. I had a lot of talks with my wife and she helped put this together. I feel that people who are taking offense to the Black Lives Matter movement, I don’t want them to be fans of ours if they’re taking offense. There is nothing to be offended about. Something needs to change and something needs to happen. I’ve speaking from the heart but we are all created by God and he made us in His image. It doesn’t matter what color He painted us. He made us in His image and He wants all of us to be equal and it’s time for everybody to be equal. So, Cash and myself decided to step up. We raised $4,000 on eBay and then we donated $4,000 of our own money to Nex Millen here in Asheville, North Carolina. He hosts a studio for the youth of Asheville to come in and he teaches them how to play instruments. It’s called Organic Synergy and he gives them the opportunity to sing and rap and keep them off the streets. His business was affected by COVID so we’ve taken that money and donated it to him.”

Wheeler on learning more about systemic racism recently: “It’s no secret that Dax and myself come from small towns in a southern state. North Carolina, obviously, has a history that you can’t always be proud of because of things like this. I credit my family because I was never taught to hate and Dax wasn’t either. But I also was never taught to understand fully what our friends go through just because of the color of their skin. I had so many friends growing up that I didn’t care what color they were as I loved them all equally. But the older I get, the more hurt I see them go through and the more I understand their struggle. I’m able to look at it through eyes that I’ve never really seen it before…

“It hurts to see these guys go through what they have to go through based off something so trivial such as skin color which should not matter at all. We wanted to break our own stereotypes as two white guys from Southern states, there’s always gonna be this preconceived notion about how we feel and it couldn’t be further from the truth. We wanted to do something to show people from similar areas that we come from that you can make a difference. You can make a change and help your brothers and sisters in need that are hurting. All you’ve got to do is stand up and use your voice. You don’t have to donate money but you can use your words because words mean something and actions mean something. Because of that, we felt like if it came from us maybe somewhere there will be two impressionable young guys in our similar areas it could reach and they could make a difference themselves. We wanted to help – that’s the long version of it.”

Harwood on AEW raising money for COVID-19 relief at Fight For the Fallen: “We’re very excited to be working with AEW now – a company that actually cares. We actually feel important and we feel like we’re part of a company that’s bigger than ‘pro rasslin.’ They’re gonna donate their funds to Florida’s First Coast Relief Fund – things like that come from the heart. The Khans are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met in my life. I’m just excited to be with a company that is that passionate about something like this.”