JBL Talks The Hypocrisy of People Criticizing WWE For Running Crown Jewel In Saudi Arabia

Former WWE Superstar JBL recently appeared on Busted Open Radio (via Wrestling Inc) and spoke about the hypocrisy of people criticizing WWE for running Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. Below are some highlights.

On Why WWE Should Go To Saudi Arabia: “You look at something like Russia or you look at something like China where you actually allow free markets to go in. And you haven’t seen the change that we, in the western world, would probably like. You still have a bit of a dictatorship, some people would say more than a bit of a dictatorship, in Russia and in China. But you’re seeing change come there and Saudi Arabia. I think staying away from Saudi Arabia, there [are] macroeconomic reasons to not stay away from Saudi Arabia, huge macroeconomic reasons right now in the world. But to me, as far as if you want to do something to promote change, you allow business and free markets to go in there.”

On The Hypocrisy of People Criticizing WWE For Running Crown Jewel In Saudi Arabia: “I think it’s horribly unfair [for WWE to receive criticism for continuing with Crown Jewel]. I mean, you look at what’s going on in the world right now. Russia has this Novichok poison. They’re the only ones to have ever manufactured it. They obviously killed this guy in the UK. They’ve poisoned another. Several guys have been poisoned. It’s obviously Russia. You still have the World Cup there and people are not boycotting the World Cup. Look at what’s going on in China. And, by the way, 65 reports last year were killed globally, around the globe right now. Not to diminish what happened, [but] this is a direct violation of the Magnitsky Act. It says that the USA is going to have to put some type of sanctions upon Saudi Arabia, which they should. They should deal with this issue, but you think about what’s going on with the Uyghurs in the Xingjiang province in China, what’s going on with the Tibetans in China, the human rights violations, yet you go to the Olympics there and people say, ‘oh, this is so great!’ Everybody’s going to China. There [are] human rights violations everywhere and I’m not diminishing that. I’m not diminishing the fact that you should deal with it. “Look at the United States! We have incarceration [rates]… this isn’t whataboutism, but this is a one-for-one correlation. We have a mass incarceration among minorities that is disproportionate to our population. It’s a travesty what’s going on with our mass incarceration specifically of minorities. Yet, we still do business in the United States. You can’t change certain things just by not going there. WWE, from what I understand, has a contract with Saudi Arabia. WWE, to me, if you want to promote change, you let these guys go. No one else is treated like this. You didn’t do this with the World Cup. You didn’t do it with the Olympics. But all-of-a-sudden, you’re going after WWE. I think it’s easy fodder. It’s hard going after the World Cup. It’s hard going after the Olympics.”

On Using Sport to Bridge Social divides: “You want to get something changed, you send sport. Look what happened when Pee Wee Reese puts his arm around Jackie Robinson. That did more for racial relations in the United States through sport. That’s one of the reasons I would take WWE away from Saudi Arabia. And people say, ‘ah, they’re just trying to make money.’ They’re a business. They should try to make money. But, to me, the greater good is you go over there and you show people that it’s okay to be from different backgrounds. It’s okay to be a woman and compete. They’re not competing in Saudi Arabia yet. I think they will and I think it’s a right step forward. And I think that’s why it’s so important that sport… sport changes the world, man. Once you line up beside somebody in sport, you don’t care what color they are, what ethnicity they are, what orientation they are. It doesn’t matter.”

On WWE Talent Having The Choice Not To Go: “Look, if you’re one of the performers, I can see not wanting to go [to Saudi Arabia] for travel reasons. I can’t speak to any of their motives as far as what they believe happened to Mr. Khashoggi in the Turkish Embassy. Absolutely, you have a right not to go [to Saudia Arabia] and I feel very confident that WWE will not insist that anybody go. Certain people didn’t want to go to Iraq. Now, it’s for different reasons. They felt like their safety may be in jeopardy. But certain people didn’t want to go to Iraq for so many years in a row. But there were certain people that didn’t agree with the 9/13 show, two days after 9/11 in Houston [Texas]. And Vince [McMahon] made it very clear: ‘if you don’t want to be here, [it is] not an issue – there [are] no repercussions; there’s not going to be any fallback from this – that is simply your choice.’ I think that would be the same with Saudi Arabia.”