superstar Brooks Jensen has responded to criticism over his t-shirt choice for a recent championship match.
Last week on NXT, the 22-year-old wrestler challenged for the NXT North American Title, and while the pair were praised for the bout, Brooks faced some backlash before the bell had rang.
In the buildup to the championship clash, Brooks – whose father is former WWE star Bull Buchanan – explained how he would be turning to champions of the past for inspiration.
He tweeted: ‘The last thing I’ll be seeing before walk out tonight to battle for a prestigious champion that most of these men have held before. Tonight is not only about myself, every fan watching, but for legacy.. #WWENXT #RunItBack’
Brooks ended up wearing a t-shirt in tribute to Ole Anderson, who, but some fans took issue with his choice due to past allegations of racism against the Hall of Famer.
After fans brought the accusations to his attention and asked why he felt the t-shirt was ‘appropriate’, the Alabama-born wrestler has now admitted he was unaware of the allegations.
He said in a statement on X: ‘I will never support any racism, hate, or bullying. While I respected Ole for his wrestling it was news to me after wearing the tshirt that he was associated with these allegation’s.
‘Ive noticed my “looks” and where I’m from are frequently stigmatized with the underbelly of our society (i.e racists) but this mullet just likes to give love and party.
‘My apologies to anyone who knew the allegations prior and were offended by the shirt. I’m learning and this was noted. (sic)’
In the past, Anderson was heavily criticism for his alleged interactions with – and language used towards – black wrestlers and performers, including Tony Atlas, Teddy Long and soon-to-be Thunderbolt Patterson.
Plenty of fans have praised Brooks for how he handled the criticism, with @WesOnTheWorld1 tweeted: ‘Absolutely love you for giving this REAL attention. Sir you have a forever fan and supporter. That’s for sure.’
‘Respect to you for even responding to this. Not a lot of people will acknowledge something like this 🙌, replied @PunksWorldd, while @iBlackula added: ‘Love this brother. We appreciate this and we know you had no ill intentions. Keep doing your thing. 🙏🏿’
