Teacher investigated for playing Nazi wrestling character
The video has gained widespread attention and condemnation since it was posted last Wednesday on Twitter by Ryan Satin, who runs a professional wrestling news site.
By ROBERT MORAN/PHILLY.COM
An elementary school teacher is under investigation by a Pennsylvania school district after video surfaced last week of him performing as a local professional wrestler under the name Blitzkrieg and shouting “Sieg Heil!” while raising his hand in a Nazi salute.Kevin Bean, 36, is seen wearing a black shirt with a white lightning bolt as he waves a flag bearing the German Iron Cross. A young boy holds up a sign that declares, “BLITZKRIEG RULES!”The video has gained widespread attention and condemnation since it was posted last Wednesday on Twitter by Ryan Satin, who runs a professional wrestling news site.
“A wrestler named Blitzkrieg ‘The German Juggernaut’ using a nazi gimmick at a recent local show in Pennsylvania. This video makes me sick. Watching the guy do nazi salutes on his way to the ring while children in the crowd cheer him on like a good guy is terrifying,” Satin wrote.In a message posted on the school district’s website on Monday, superintendent David Goodin said that his administration became aware of the video late last week and that an “ongoing internal investigation” was launched immediately.“I want to assure you that the actions portrayed in this video do not represent the core values of the school district,” Goodin wrote. “As an educational organization, we pride ourselves in providing a safe and nurturing learning environment.”He did not elaborate, saying the situation was a “personnel matter.”Bean could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.The video reportedly was from a World Wide Wrestling Alliance show in Quakertown, Pennsylvania on July 23.Dino Sanna, owner of the WWWA, told the Blast news site last week that Bean is a “good guy and not a hateful person,” and that his Blitzkrieg character had become a popular villain.As of Tuesday night, Bean’s character was still featured on the WWWA’s website. The video of his Quakertown match, however, had been removed from the organization’s YouTube channel, which has 45 subscribers.In the video snippet Satin posted on Twitter, Bean enters the small venue to heavy metal music and is both applauded and heckled. His personal boasting is later countered by chants of “USA! USA!”Bean was defended by some commenters responding to Satin’s tweet.“He has done this gimmick for almost ten years, and it makes the show fun,” wrote @DenisD206.“I was at the show in Quakertown that you reported on along with maybe 50? other people. We paid to be there, we enjoyed the show. We love Blitzkrieg and know what he’s actually about. He is a heel character and he’s there to be hated and booed,” wrote @MariahCaravan.———©2018 Philly.comVisit Philly.com at www.philly.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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