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WWE star Chris Jericho has found out the hard way that being a wrestling heel can get you in big trouble in real life. TMZ reports that during a match between CM Punk and Jericho in Brazil, Jericho -- currently a "bad guy" in the WWE storylines -- grabbed the Brazilian flag from Punk (who was waving it to the cheering crowd), crumpled it up and kicked it away. In other words, somewhat typical heel activity – drawing heat from the arena you’re in by verbally or physically showing your distaste for the locals.
The problem was, in Brazil, desecrating the national flag is a crime – one you could be arrested for. TMZ say police actually held up the entire WWE event, as Jericho was informed of the situation and given the option to apologize to the arena or go to jail. He immediately apologized to the crowd and the event was allowed to continue.
What may raise some eyebrows is that the WWE have now suspended Jericho. TMZ say that they've heard from WWE sources, "the flag stunt was NOT planned or approved by WWE officials." Initially the suspension was indefinite, but it’s now been changed to 30 days. In a statement, the WWE says, "Chris Jericho has been suspended for 30 days due to an irresponsible act of denigrating the Brazilian flag at a WWE live event in São Paulo on May 24. WWE has apologized to the citizens and the government of Brazil for this incident."
WWE have posted a response from Jericho, who says, “It was a bad move. I did it with [our] fans’ entertainment in mind and I’ll accept the consequences for that.”
Jericho has also Tweeted, “Just for the record I love Brazil and wish we could've spent more time here. Beautiful country!”
While he’s got a day off today, I’m sure our resident WWE expert Matt Fowler will share his thoughts on this in this coming Tuesday’s Wrestling Wrap Up column.
Source
The problem was, in Brazil, desecrating the national flag is a crime – one you could be arrested for. TMZ say police actually held up the entire WWE event, as Jericho was informed of the situation and given the option to apologize to the arena or go to jail. He immediately apologized to the crowd and the event was allowed to continue.
What may raise some eyebrows is that the WWE have now suspended Jericho. TMZ say that they've heard from WWE sources, "the flag stunt was NOT planned or approved by WWE officials." Initially the suspension was indefinite, but it’s now been changed to 30 days. In a statement, the WWE says, "Chris Jericho has been suspended for 30 days due to an irresponsible act of denigrating the Brazilian flag at a WWE live event in São Paulo on May 24. WWE has apologized to the citizens and the government of Brazil for this incident."
WWE have posted a response from Jericho, who says, “It was a bad move. I did it with [our] fans’ entertainment in mind and I’ll accept the consequences for that.”
Jericho has also Tweeted, “Just for the record I love Brazil and wish we could've spent more time here. Beautiful country!”
While he’s got a day off today, I’m sure our resident WWE expert Matt Fowler will share his thoughts on this in this coming Tuesday’s Wrestling Wrap Up column.
Source
