WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair has issued a statement on allegations made against him during last Thursday’s Dark Side of the Ring episode on Vice TV, which covered WWE’s infamous “Plane Ride from Hell” from May 2002.
As we’ve noted, Flair has received significant backlash over his behavior during the flight, which was publicized again last Thursday on DSOTR. Tommy Dreamer has also received heat for his defense of Flair.
In an update, Flair issued a statement this evening and he continues to deny the main allegations. You can read his full statement below:
Every person that I’ve worked with, from my lawyer to my publicist to my friends have said not to post a response; but I’ve never run from past behaviors before and I’m not going to start now.
I want to clarify a few things:
About four years ago, I gave ESPN full access to my life for a “30 for 30” special. They covered taxes, financial issues, adultery, divorces, the passing of my child and drinking/partying AT LENGTH.
Rory Kampf, desperate to matter for another 15 minutes, did an interview about it this morning. When Rory’s lips are moving, he’s typically lying, but one part of what he said was the God’s honest truth:
“I’d never heard that he had forced someone to touch his genitals,” Karpf admitted. “Everything with Ric that was construed as negative I tried to address in the 30 for 30. His drinking, his philandering, his adultery, his money problems, there’s quite a bit, but never, at least in the people that I spoke to, no one ever brought up that he would force himself on somebody.”
I allowed my personal life and the lives of my wife and children to be turned upside down for one reason: Whether it’s good or bad, even the really bad, the truth has to matter. Even in wrestling.
My issues have been well documented over my 40+ year career. The impact of drinking too much (which nearly killed me 5 years ago) has been told time and time and time again. The reason Rory (or anyone else for that matter) never heard stories of me forcing myself on ANYONE is simple: it never happened.
Stay tuned for more.
(H/T to WrestlingInc for the statement)
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