The AFU and Urban Legend Archive
Misc
 WWF




Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: ctf2m@kelvin.seas.Virginia.EDU (Chris Fishel)
Subject: Pro wrestling as a non-sport
Date: Sat, 24 Feb 1996 20:27:38 GMT

The FAQ has the following:
> U. US Supreme Court ruled that "professional wrestling" was
> entertainment, not sport.

Misremembering news items like the follwing may be responsible for the idea that the Supremes ruled that pro wrestling isn't a sport.

From _Facts on File Yearbook 1989_, p. 116:

The New Jersey Senate Feb. 9 passed legislation that would remove professional wrestling from state regulations that applied to boxing and other sports that could cause serious injuries.

The World Wrestling Federation, a prominent wrestling circuit that traditionally had fought to portray its matches as athletic contests, requested in the legislation that wrestling be defined as "an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for the purpose of providing entertainment to spectators rather than conducting a bona fide athletic contest." The WWF said the participants were trained to avoid serious injuries.

The wrestling federation had won or was seeking similar deregulation in several other states.

So perhaps the FAQ should be changed to: T. For regulatory purposes, professional wrestling is considered

entertainment rather than a sport in some states (eg, NJ).

Chris "In New Jersey, AFU is described as 'an activity in which participants struggle moden-to-modem to conduct a bona fide pissing contest and only incidently provide entertainment for spectators'" Fishel


Any proceeds (net proceeds from merchandise sales) from TAFKAC solely benefit The Chuck Reed Fund.

Copyright Information

http://tafkac.org/