Review Fix chats with “Professional Wrestling and the Law: Legal Battles from the Ring to the Courtroom” author Alex B. Long about his upcoming book.
About the Book:
Written by a law professor (who also happens to be a wrestling fan), this book is an entertaining and informative exploration of legal cases involving professional wrestling. Relying upon judicial decisions and court documents, it discusses the legal theories and procedures involved in legal disputes involving professional wrestling and explores how the legal system–an institution devoted to arriving at the truth involved in any conflict–has dealt with the business of professional wrestling, a business with a long history of obscuring the truth. Topics include: the legal issues involved when a wrestler goes into the crowd and beats up a fan; Hulk Hogan’s defamation lawsuit against World Championship Wrestling for statements made during a live pay-per-view event; and race and sex discrimination in professional wrestling.
Review Fix: Why wrestling?
Alex B. Long: I’ve been a wrestling fan off and on throughout my life. Some of my best memories from college involving attending matches and watching shows on tv with friends. It’s just one of those things that has stuck with me. Plus, the history of the sport is pretty fascinating.
Review Fix: What did you learn about the “sport” you weren’t expecting?
Long: That it was even sleazier back in the day than I thought. I’ve always been intrigued by the “carny” nature of the sport and the interesting sorts of people it attracted. A lot of the older wrestlers had, shall we say, a flexible sense of right and wrong. They may not have always been too concerned about what was legal.
Review Fix: Who’s your favorite wrestler of all-time and how do they interconnect with your theme?
Long: Whoo! The Nature Boy Ric Flair was one of the first wrestlers I remember from when I was kid, and he was still The Man when I was in college. One of the big themes in the book is how the legal system, which is all about uncovering the truth, has dealt with the wrestling business’ devotion to “kayfabe,” or the practice of hiding the truth about wrestling. It’s made for an uneasy relationship at times. In his early days, Flair was involved in one of the biggest efforts to maintain kayfabe in the history of the sport.
Review Fix: Any cases didn’t get into the book that you wanted to write about?
Long: I’d love to do a sequel. The one case I spent some time researching but didn’t include in the final version is Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker for posting the sex tape involving Hogan on their site. It’s an interesting case that involves a few important legal issues.
Review Fix: What’s your favorite case?
Long: That’s tough. I love the chapter about lawsuits involving fans who were injured at wrestling matches, including the one where one of the guys from the Midnight Express went into the crowd in Beckley, West Virginia and beat up a fan. The chapter about the efforts in several states to prevent women from wrestling during much of the 20th century and the lawsuits that resulted is also pretty fascinating. Hulk Hogan makes a couple of appearances too.
Review Fix: Will casual wrestling fans dig this one too?
Long: I hope. The book is as much about the law, history, and popular culture as it is professional wrestling. I think anyone with an interest in those things should enjoy it.
Review Fix: What’s next?
Long: Probably back to writing boring law journal articles for a while.
Review Fix: Where can people find out more?
Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?
Long: Hopefully, the book will be coming out soon.
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