WWE responds to claim made by Keith Lee

[cjh]

wrestlingheadlines.com/wwe-issues-statement-dismissing-keith-lees-comments-about-paying-his-own-medical-bills/

WWE Statement

Keith Lee’s recent comments implying WWE failed to pay his medical bills are erroneous.

WWE has an extensive healthcare program for the medical care of its in-ring performers and Mr. Lee was part of this program while with the company.

Should Mr. Lee have any concerns over the payment of medical bills, he is welcome to address them with WWE.

[Natural Born Farmer]

I did think that aspect of Keith Lee's statement seemed pretty fishy.

Still, I wonder if this isn't WWE pulling a Michael Scott, "well we paid his salary so TECHNICALLY we paid for his treatment" situation.

[Moppy]

'Mr Lee'? That's Mr. BEARCAT to you, pal.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Jesus christ for a split second I thought WWE's statement also began with "Greetings and Salutations!" lmfao

[Mayonnaise]

Probably tried to go the Dixie Carter route and were waiting on it to go to collections to save a few bucks.

[Deleted]

I do not see how or why Keith would lie about something like this.

On the other hand there is a lot wiggle room here to so speak...like whether or not Keith Lee even approached WWE on this or if he just chose to pay for it himself etc.

Either way things about to get spicy.

[Deleted]

*shrugs*

When it comes to this Keith Lee/medical/Covid thing I literally can't trust anyone. All I know is that Keith Lee was going through some rough stuff so that's that. Anything else like who pays the bills or even what happened to him I can't make an assessment.

Everybody involved is being super secret about it and granted, yeah that's great since it's medical related but man I don't know if dude was on a ventilator or if he had a hangnail.

[El Cokehead del Knife Fight]

Keith Lee doesn't gain anything by lying about it.

[Legion]

I'd assume WWE's program will have paid for anything it was legally required to cover, but anything Keith decided to do extra or may have needed or wanted that wasn't covered, he'd have paid himself.

WWE doesnt generally get involved in these sort of tit for tat things unless they genuinely feel slighted, but as others have said, Keith gains little from lying.

So, I'd assume some sort of middle ground is likely true, along the lines of paying what they were liable to pay, but probably not everything he may have used given Long Covid and treatment around that is new, and likely not covered by existing policies etc. as it isn't a fully proven condition yet.

["Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik]

WWE's statement is specifically vague. It notes Keith was in their program but doesn't address anything more than that. I'm sure there were aspects of his healthcare that they covered during his tenure there. Lance Storm noted on his weekly podcast with Alvarez that they do cover work related injuries. But COVID and the long term effects of it likely operate in a grey area where WWE might not have offered coverage. I don't think Keith gains anything from lying and burning a bridge here. So it's possible that both statements are true. And if that's the case, I would still say WWE is in the wrong for not extending workplace coverage to COVID because it was proven time and again that their workplace wasn't using the best protocols and they were seeing regular outbreaks.

[The Dark Order Inferno]

The WWE put in place a policy requiring talent to pay for their own medical insurance a decade ago, with Talent like John Morrison speaking out about how difficult and it was to find individual insurance after a neck injury, Maria Kanellis also said that under the WWE's rehab program, Mike would have ended up paying them back 50% of the costs from his wages had he taken them up on it so I absolutely buy that the WWE did not pay a cent toward his bills and any offer of assistance came with the expectation they would be paid back.

Also, there's Stephanie's own words on WWE's medical coverage.

“So our talent are all independent contractors, so we actually don’t provide medical insurance for our talent,” McMahon stated. “We pay for all injuries, any surgeries or anything related to all in-ring injuries. We do have substance and abuses protocols that we offer our talent both current and retired. So anyone that’s ever had issues with drug and alcohol abuse, they can be a part of this program. WWE itself, for our employees, we do have health, medical and overall wellness and mental health.”

That's basically saying they only help if the company is responsible, otherwise they're SOL, with mentions of employee benefits and health and rehab brought up to fudge the issue and make it seem like they're more generous to their talent, who are not employees, than they really are. Given that Lee's health issues were not sustained in ring, they were not obligated to cover anything so there is no reason to believe them that this is the one time they put their hands in their pocket when they didn't have to. They cut hundreds of people during a pandemic, they're firing long term employees and cutting main eventers to make way for cheaper NXT guys. There is zero reason to believe them when they say they paid for Lee's medical care.

[Wieners=$$$]

I like how WWE's statement comes from WWE, not someone from their PR department.

WWE: WWE is displeased by these statements. WWE will not stand for these accusations. WWE is loving and caring. All the time, WWE says things like, "I love you" and "Take care." WWE likes puppies and babies.

[lildude8218]

Tony Khan actually paid for it and he wasn't even thanked in public!

[TWERKIN' MAGGLE]

As usual, WWE opens their mouth when the best move of them would be to shut up and let it go.

[polarbearpete]

Nov 12, 2021 19:29:00 GMT -5 "Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik said:

WWE's statement is specifically vague. It notes Keith was in their program but doesn't address anything more than that. I'm sure there were aspects of his healthcare that they covered during his tenure there. Lance Storm noted on his weekly podcast with Alvarez that they do cover work related injuries. But COVID and the long term effects of it likely operate in a grey area where WWE might not have offered coverage. I don't think Keith gains anything from lying and burning a bridge here. So it's possible that both statements are true. And if that's the case, I would still say WWE is in the wrong for not extending workplace coverage to COVID because it was proven time and again that their workplace wasn't using the best protocols and they were seeing regular outbreaks.

The statement says that what Keith Lee said is false. What Keith Lee said is that he and not WWE paid his medical bills.

["Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik]

Nov 12, 2021 20:03:44 GMT -5 polarbearpete said:

Nov 12, 2021 19:29:00 GMT -5 "Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik said:

WWE's statement is specifically vague. It notes Keith was in their program but doesn't address anything more than that. I'm sure there were aspects of his healthcare that they covered during his tenure there. Lance Storm noted on his weekly podcast with Alvarez that they do cover work related injuries. But COVID and the long term effects of it likely operate in a grey area where WWE might not have offered coverage. I don't think Keith gains anything from lying and burning a bridge here. So it's possible that both statements are true. And if that's the case, I would still say WWE is in the wrong for not extending workplace coverage to COVID because it was proven time and again that their workplace wasn't using the best protocols and they were seeing regular outbreaks.

The statement says that what Keith Lee said is false. What Keith Lee said is that he and not WWE paid his medical bills.

Sure, I'm just saying that the real answer could easily be somewhere in the middle.

[El Cokehead del Knife Fight]

WWE pays the medical bills when someone gets injured as a result of work, nobody can prove that Keith Lee caught covid thanks to their lax standards and therefore they didn't need to cover it.

[fw91]

News to me that wwe offers health insurance (if there’s any truth to this)

[polarbearpete]

Nov 12, 2021 20:07:09 GMT -5 "Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik said:

Nov 12, 2021 20:03:44 GMT -5 polarbearpete said:

The statement says that what Keith Lee said is false. What Keith Lee said is that he and not WWE paid his medical bills.

Sure, I'm just saying that the real answer could easily be somewhere in the middle.

Right there may be some things that were not covered, but I doubt it wa the entirety of his COVID-related medical bills that he paid for.

He said in an interview he went for like 4-5 MRIs in Pittsburgh, which is typically where WWE sends people for serious issues. I highly doubt he was paying for those MRIs and appointments.

[El Cokehead del Knife Fight]

Important to not this does not actively say they paid his medical bills. Calling his statement erroneous while offering zero evidence to refute it is certainly a choice. It’s obvious corporate speak and the fact that they even responded to it with this vague shit just makes me believe Keith more.