Jeff Hardy’s relapse and DUI arrest continues to make waves in the wrestling world so soon after he left WWE, but he’s going well and that’s good to hear.
This situation put Tony Kahn squarely in the middle of a difficult situation as Jeff’s boss, and Kahn responded with a suspension without pay while Jeff gets help.
It’s a tricky situation as Jeff got behind the wheel of a car and put others at risk for at least the third time, and the fact he told the police officers he was going for a brain scan has raised some concerns for CTE or other possible issues that’s contributing to his recent struggles.
But that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t face consequences for his actions as well as help, and that’s what Kahn’s offered.
Differences with Jon Moxley
At AEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door’s media call, Kahn shared his thoughts on Jeff and how this is a different situation than the one with Jon Moxley and how he doesn’t condone what Jeff did.
Special thanks to wrestlinginc.com for the transcript.
“Jeff is doing much better. As I understand, Jeff’s in treatment. I don’t want to say too much about what’s going on, because it’s his business, but I’m here for him, whatever he needs.
“I’m really glad nobody got hurt. But what Jeff did going out and driving is different from the other thing. And I just don’t like hearing the two compared, if that makes sense. I feel like I’d be remiss if I didn’t give Jeff a lot of credit for now doing the right thing. And this is what we said — Jeff’s got to do the right thing if he wants to stay with AEW. Because it’s his last chance.
“It’s totally different. Jon didn’t put anybody at risk like that, he wasn’t out drinking and driving… So that’s why I didn’t like hearing it compared. But I will say Jeff is in treatment and doing better. I talked to Matt about it the other day, and we’ll be here and we’ll support him for what he needs. This is what he had to do; he had to go to treatment to get us to keep supporting him at this time. And we are.”
AEW wellness policy
A company having a wellness policy is expected, but it’s good to hear how much AEW is investing in helping their talent as much as they can.
Kahn also pointed out AEW has a testing policy in place.
“We’re here for anybody that steps up and wants to get help, and hopefully they’ll come to us instead of it being under circumstances where they get themselves in trouble. But the most important thing is they get the help, and I’m here to stand by anybody who that needs help and will get it. It’s available to anybody here. Anybody who needs time off, if they have an issue, they can take it, no matter how big of a star they are.
“They can be the most important person in the company in terms of drawing revenue, or somebody who isn’t on TV as much and isn’t drawing as much revenue, it doesn’t matter. It’s the same quality of first-class treatment if they need it. As far as everything else, we do have a policy in place about making sure people come in and show up to work in the condition to work. That’s the most important thing. There’s a testing policy.”
We’re glad to hear everyone gets treated the same in this regard as it’s easy to give preferential treatment to a top star, even going so far as to ignore a problem to an extent or do everything possible to rush them back.
This is the type of balance that should be expected from any company or wellness policy, and it shows how important an issue this is for Tony Kahn and AEW’s present and future.
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