Bret Hart's Statement On Hall Of Fame Incident

Credit to the Baltimore Sun for unearthing the following statement regarding Bret Hart's walk out, in protest of journalist Greg Oliver's recognition at the Dan Gable Hall Of Fame ceremony:

"Bret did, in fact, make his comments during his formal acceptance speech, which was in the evening; the less formal version, for fans, was in the afternoon. Bret is not the least bit concerned with what ranking Greg Oliver gave him. Greg is entitled to his opinion, like anyone else. For Bret to have been upset about how Oliver ranked him would have been petty, as some here have posted, but that is not, in fact, the case. Bret feels that Greg Oliver's books often present the writer's own opinion – (not just about Hart) as fact and that blurs the line of responsible journalism. Bret told me that recognizing Greg Oliver with an award provides him with a "credential" upon which other credentials can be built; a few years from now Greg would appear to have a 'wall of credentials' and would be called upon ( more often than he already is) as a wrestling expert by the mainstream press, like Dave Meltzer is now. And so, then someone who presents his own opinion as fact would have too much power to further distort an accurate account of the history of pro wrestling. Bret is passionate about a truthful account of pro wrestling being preserved for generations to come, no matter how he is portrayed, as long as it is factually accurate.

Bret's perceived difference between Greg Oliver and those "like him" from Meltzer, for example, is that Oliver is in it for the wrong reason; recognition. During the afternoon event, while I was busy handling an autograph session where Bret and Roddy were signing, Greg Oliver gave me a copy of his latest book to give to Bret (The Heels), but then he said, "Oh wait, let me sign that for him before I give it to him?" and he did. So, basically, Greg autographed his book for Bret. Bret feels there is some degree of audacity in that as Greg is supposed to be the reporter, not the participant. Dave Meltzer, whose landmark publication is even named The Observer, defines himself as such, without the attached ego. He was a journalism major and has, over the years, displayed objectivity and detachment from outcome which is lacking on Oliver's reporting, and he, "?at least attempts to get it right?", according to Bret.

Bret doesn't have any problem at all with a deserving journalist being honored and inducted. He just felt that Stu would have been honored to be inducted into this particular hall of fame because it is rooted in amateur, not pro, footings and the past inductees are all distinguished and deserving people who had sacrificed much for the love of wrestling and for the business. He felt that Greg Oliver doesn't fit that bill in that he hasn't paid his dues and doesn't report or write with objectivity.

I hear that Greg stated, on Wrestling Observer Live, to Bryan Alvarez, that I, myself, walked out of the banquet to tell Bret that he shouldn't have said what he said. I didn't hear this myself but was told this in an email from Mike Lano. In fact, I walked out only because it was such an unusually awkward moment that I wanted to see what, if anything, Bret might want from me. I'll get back to that. Before I left, I saw that the first person to stand up and give Bret an ovation after Bret walked out was Harley Race. Next to stand to show his approval was Danny Hodge. Then other legends stood up, including Roddy. None of the wrestlers walked out and no fans walked out. I left a minute or so after Bret did. Bret asked me to get his notes, which he'd jotted down briefly just after sitting down at the head table (where seats had been reserved for Bret, Roddy and myself. ( when we walked in, late I initially sat next to Bret but then I chose to sit with Harley and BJ instead so I could see better. Also, although I appreciated the compliment of my seat assignment, I've always preferred to be behind-the scenes and wasn't comfortable being so visible at the head table.) Bret's notes were not about Greg Oliver, but pertained to his speech in general. He'd left them on the podium when he walked out. I didn't want to parade up to the podium in front of everyone so I asked Mike Chapman, the Director of the Museum to get the notes for me, which he did.

While Mike waited for an opportune moment to go to the podium I was standing just outside the door to the banquet room and one notable after another came out and expressed support to me for what Bret had said. As what they said to me was not in a public forum, I won't betray their confidences by revealing their exact words and identities at this time. No doubt, some will call that a convenient excuse or whatever, but frankly I don't care about that because the reason I've been around as long as I have is because I respect the honor of being trusted by these men; and I work hard and have paid my dues. One of them passionately expressed to me that there are no shortcuts in this business and that respect and honor have to be earned – and that Greg Oliver hadn't done so, in his opinion. That sentiment was echoed over and over to me by iconic men throughout the rest of the evening – and not so much that it was directed at Greg specifically, but at the so-called "wrestling reporters", especially internet based ones, whose egos have diluted whatever objectivity they might have started out with because they seem to enjoy the pseudo-celebrity that comes with the internet a little too much.

Nowhere in this account have I expressed my own opinion of Greg Oliver; and I won't. I've simply given you the facts of what happened. At CAC a couple of weeks ago, during his acceptance speech, Bret mentioned how he'd had the honor and privilege to watch and learn from Harley Race and Terry Funk (who were seated behind Bret, on the stage) when he was a kid. After Bret's speech, while Bret was being mobbed at the side of the stage by the Japanese and European media, I watched as an emotional Terry Funk took the mic, "I speak for both myself and Harley. That kid grew up to do it so much better than we ever could. And we love him for it." Terry Funk's supreme compliment carries more weight than how any reporter ranks Bret.

Marcy Engelstein
Sr. Consulting Mgr.
Bret Hart/ HItman Productions"