- A wrestling promoter in Denton, North Carolina, reportedly caved to threats by the Ku Klux Klan and banned black wrestlers and fans from attending a June 23rd show. The promoter was spooked by a text message, which read: “Do not bring no blacks into Denton. You have been warned. The White Knights.”
WCNC reports:
Wrestlers said the promoter gathered them a few days before the match in the dressing room and told them, “More or less any black wrestlers and even black fans weren’t welcome in the show,” said Chris Rogers, who wrestles with his brother from Monroe.
“You could have cut the tension in the locker room with a knife because we felt like why are we even here to put on a show for these people if we can’t have our brothers of another race or nationality,” said Rogers.
David Ridenhour, a Lutheran pastor who plays the role of a “mafia” wrestling manager under the name “Giovani Fino,” says the promoter told them he had tried to report the text warning to law enforcement.
“I was told they contacted police and they said, ‘You’d better pay attention. Those boys mean business,’” said Ridenhour.
“We haven’t received a complaint,” said Denton Police Chief Mark Hicks. “If we knew anything about the event we would have had an officer there. I have never heard of that group.”
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