10. She Does Not Believe There Is A Race Issue In WWE
There was a time when The Funkadactyls, a team consisting of Naomi and Cameron, were among a very limited number of African-American Divas on the roster. In fact, when they debuted, Alicia Fox and Layla were the only two other women of color in WWE. During a September 2013 interview with Ebony, Naomi made it clear to the reporter and anyone reading that she does not believe the company had, or has, an issue with race. The reporter asked first asked the following;
I'll be the heavy here. I have to ask, knowing there is no other Black female tag team in the WWE, do you ladies ever feel racial tension? Not in the ring per se, but amongst fans. Do you feel like audiences divide themselves and their allegiances along racial lines or do you really sense that the WWE is a truly uniting kind of force?
When presented with the complex question, Naomi responded accordingly;
Actually, I feel that in the WWE everyone is given the same opportunities to succeed based on merit, and I think the crowd likes who they like. There are people that like us and there are people that wont like us.
The answer skirted the question a bit but still, Naomi made it abundantly clear that she does not consider the race concerns to be of any real substance.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
