Some sports broadcasters have inserted their opinions into societal issues more and more over the years.
Amazon Prime broadcaster Al Michaels took a jab at President Donald Trump renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America,” former ESPN broadcaster Mark Jones had made a litany of controversial remarks during his time at the company and even NBC Sports’ Cris Collinsworth waded into political waters last year with a sly remark about the government shutdown.
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Still, one of the places where broadcasters rarely – if ever – make a political comment, statement or take a quick jab is during a WWE show.
Legendary WWE broadcaster Michael Cole, who has worked for the company for three decades, has never been known to insert any type of political commentary into his calling of the matches one way or the other. Cole talked to OutKick’s Bobby Burack with OutKick Dropkick about staying out of those murky waters.
“Not at all. Again, when I started in the company 30 years ago, there was a total non-political stance. We’re out here to entertain everyone and that’s the case still today. I don’t go on social media, I just don’t,” he said. “All I’m going to do is get myself in trouble if I tweet something out because someone is going to take it the wrong way, right? So, I don’t get involved in any type of social media. I don’t have Facebook. I don’t have Instagram. I don’t have any of that type of stuff.
“And when we’re on television, what I try to remember is that I’m not Sean Coulthard – my real name and my real life. I’m Michael Cole. Michael Cole is an actor. That’s my job. My job is to play a role in this weekly episodic television show that is scripted entertainment. There’s no reason for me to make a political statement on the air. None. My job is to be an actor and play by the rules of what the script tells us to do each and every week. If you follow that formula, you’ll never get yourself in trouble.”
Cole being able to avoid politics is a feat in and of itself.
Everyone has an opinion, even pro wrestlers, about politics, world issues, etc. But for Cole, he believes the audience doesn’t care about the WWE figure’s political point of view.
“Here’s the deal on that,” he said. “No one cares what Michael Cole has to say about anything political. They don’t. Just like I don’t care about any other broadcaster and what they have to say about anything political. It doesn’t matter to me. I watch the NFL, not hear the broadcasters – they enhance the game – I watch it for the game. People don’t watch WWE for Michael Cole. They watch it for the superstars in the ring and then I hope I do my job, which is to enhance what these people are seeing on their screens.
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“That’s it. No one cares who I voted for. Nobody cares what party I’m affiliated with. No one does. So, why would I go out there and put it out there. It’s silly.”
Furthermore, Cole said he’s done a good job at being able to separate his WWE life and his life at home and shared a rather interesting fact about his family and their interests in pro wrestling.
“Listen, I have done a really good job separating my WWE life from my normal life,” he said. “My family are not fans of the product. They don’t watch the product. In fact, today, I’m celebrating my 31st wedding anniversary. My wife has never watched one wrestling show for the 31 years we’ve been married with the exception of the match I had at WrestleMania. That’s it.
“I’m able to come home and spend my time at home, living a normal life and not talking about WWE and not talking about the company with my family and I think that has been so important to me. It’s kept me grounded and it just makes life so much better.”
Cole will be on the call for “Friday Night SmackDown” this week and at Money in the Bank, which takes place Saturday in New Orleans.
