After consecutive years of declining ratings, the NFL might finally have a competitor.
Earlier this month, Vince McMahon, the chairman and owner of WWE, announced he is restarting his infamous XFL; but this time, with a new twist.
Unlike before, the XFL will not rely on “flashy cheerleaders and antics,” according to Darren Rovell at ESPN. Vince McMahon himself said this new XFL will be “family friendly.”
Examples of this “family friendly” approach include not allowing players with a criminal record to play, having no cheerleaders perform and banning all political demonstrations.
In the wake of the infamous comments on anthem protesters in the NFL, most coming from President Donald Trump this past fall, many citizens are angry with the NFL.
As Richard Johnson with SB Nation reports, “[The XFL] will be acceptable to a certain type of audience, dog whistling to a type of football fan who expressed outrage with the way players spoke out about ideas that were important to them.”
At this point, I feel it is vital to point out a couple of problems with the “new XFL.” The most glaring issue is the credibility of Vince McMahon. Not even 20 years earlier, Vince McMahon tried to sell America the XFL with antics, sex and scandal. Today, he is trying the extreme opposite approach.
Johnson’s SB Nation article explains this hypocrisy best by saying, “In 2001 he pushed [antics, sex, and scandal] in our faces. In 2020 he will hide them to push his league as holier than thou.”
Vince McMahon does not care about your genuine family values or your concern about morality in America. He just wants your money.
This gimmick on McMahon caring about conservative values worked in the past.
According to Gerard O. a Bleacher Report user, in the middle of 2008, the WWE started the “PG Era.” WWE made a marketing decision to strip away the blood, sex, swearing and the all-around edginess, which defined them for over 20 years.
In the blink of an eye, WWE went from Stone Cold Steve Austin drinking beer and flipping off Mike Tyson, to John Cena and poop jokes. While fans criticized the move, it is impossible to say it was not the right decision. The WWE became mainstream again thanks to its marketability. McMahon made billions off of his new-found success, and he is now trying to do the same tactic with football.
The second problem with the “new XFL” is not with Vince McMahon himself, but with his family. His wife, Linda McMahon, heads the Small Business Administration in Trump’s Cabinet, according to ESPN’s Rovell. Vince has a great relationship with Trump as well, so it is impossible to separate the two at this juncture.
While Vince claims he has “no idea whether President Trump will support this,” it is clear Trump will enjoy the XFL, especially if it eats into the NFL’s slumping ratings. Trump’s hatred for the NFL stretches back to his USFL days.
According to an article in Newsweek by Tim Marcin, Trump won just $3 from an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, which inevitably led to the upstart league’s demise. As we all know by now, whatever Trump hates, his base will hate as well.
McMahon is trying to use the same “millionaire sinner turned conservative” lie Trump used to fool millions of Americans in order to make a few more million dollars off the backs of caring, honest Americans. The same man who made billions of dollars during the controversial “Attitude Era” of WWE in the 90’s is now trying to act morally superior to the NFL to leech off Trump’s base and other conservative Americans.
While I have never loved Trump’s base and supporters, they are still people who do not deserve being lied to by yet another millionaire con artist. If you truly care about family values and support conservative ideals, then you should not give a dime to the XFL. The last thing America needs is another millionaire duping honest Americans.