British news site BBC News have released a story on British wrestler Nadia Sapphire being harassed and groomed in the wrestling industry. Nadia Sapphire began wrestling Cardiff, Wales, at the age of 14. At the age of 15 Nadia got into a relationship with an older wrestler, and by 16 she couldn’t wrestle in Wales anymore due to feeling “too anxious” to wrestle.
The wrestling industry has been breaking with stories of women finally speaking out on harassment and abuse that they have received within the industry.
Nadia would discuss a number of topics with the abuse she suffered and they can be found below,
“Looking back, I can see I was obviously harassed… and I was groomed,” says Nadia.
“[Back] then I had all these guys messaging me in Wales – if anything I felt loved, I felt special.”
Nadia is now 29, and she has a huge love for the wrestling industry; however these instances need to be shared with the public. She stated that as soon as she started to wrestle at the age of 15, she would receive inappropriate messages from wrestlers 10-15 years older than her.
She would go on to state that the attention was flattering, but she felt as though her reputation was tarnished from that point forward.
“Even though I was underage… I was a ‘ring rat’ which is a term that’s used in wrestling a hell of a lot… it’s like a groupie,” she explained.
“I felt like I couldn’t go to my mum because she would have stopped me wrestling… and like the people in wrestling I didn’t want to say to them I’m being called a ring rat because I’d be scared they’d believe it”.
The #metoo movement has enabled a lot of talent to reach out for support and finally call out those who have done some horrendous things. Our thoughts and support are with Nadia Sapphire.
H/T to BBC New for the transcript
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