Bret Hart ribs Pat Patterson for being gay on live television after Raw

[We Are Legion]

Not sure if anyone bothered watching "Bret Hart Appreciation Night" following Raw, but it was available on my station "The Score" in Quebec, so I didn't need the WWE app to watch it. Pretty sure no one else in Canada did either.

The first person that joined Bret in the ring to speak of his accomplishments was Pat Patterson. The guy came out in tears and spoke very highly of Bret and everything he achieved in wrestling. At one point, he even took a knee and delivered very heartfelt praise for Bret.

Right after Patterson stood up again, the first thing Bret said on the mic in front of the whole crowd was "I get scared when Pat gets down on his knees", obviously a rib on Patterson's homosexuality.

Afterwards, Patterson looked a little dejected, but soon said something along the lines of "Oh, we're being funny? Hahaha", seemingly shrugging it off. Though I'm sure it wasn't first time someone has poked at him for his sexuality, but it was a little weird seeing it happen on live television. Especially after the words Patterson delivered to Bret which were very sincere and appreciative of the Hitman's career.

I'm definitely not trying to paint Bret as a homophobe, but that comment definitely caught me by surprise. What are your thoughts on this?

 

[PHX]

I'm sure Bret didn't actually mean harm by the comment but that is something touchy to joke about in front of everyone and could make Pat feel awkward which it seemed to do. Pat doesn't seem to want to be a guy who wants to be defined by his sexuality.

 

[Dale]

I would imagine that Bret meant it in a jokey, rib sort of manner but i'm guessing it was out of place given the way you described Patterson's praise for Bret.

 

[We Are Legion]

Yeah, "out of place" is a severe understatement.

 

[Dale]

Given I haven't seen the appreciation segment, in all seriousness what was Patterson actually doing on one knee?

 

[zigglerHEEL]

To me, it seemed like Patterson was more reacting to Lawler's follow up comment which was supposed to be a knock on pat never taking bumps but came off as another jab at his sexuality... that said, the whole interaction took a turn for the awkward following Pat's kind remarks

 

[Rated R Superstar]

Comes a day when everybody takes everything someone says too seriously. That day has come, this seems like a harmless comment.

 

[punk13]

That Pat Patterson Gay jab about him getting on his knees was kinda funny. iv'e heard much worse insults and i just laugh it off.

 

[Chris]

Patterson has been ribbed about his sexuality for years now, JR used to do it all the time on commentary. The comment itself is pretty funny and just some joking fun, so it shouldn't be any kind of big deal. Now, I haven't watched the ceremony, but if Patterson was all heartfelt with his speech and not joking, then Bret was a little insincere with the comment and probably should have refrained.

 

[Deezy]

C'mon this is an "oh grampa" comment. I found it funny, and Pats been getting ribbed like this forever.

 

[John McHenry]

[video=youtube;dAQpsmNFRzs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dAQpsmNFRzs[/video]

The incident starts around the 14 minute mark.

I'm not sure it was said for the reason we think, that or King was the best he's ever been with that recovery.

Aside from that though I think Bret comes off worse each time he's on TV these days.

 

[Deezy]

Are we suppose to hold an 50+ stroke survivor to the same standards as a Cena or equivalent? Can't anyone just make jokes anymore? Why is this an "incident"? He was just busting balls.

 

[Defiant]

I for one would like to hear Abraham Washington's take on this.

 

[Cena's Jeans Shorts]

He probably wasn't expecting it after he tried to show the guy some genuine respect. I don't know if Patterson was offended by the joke as he could have been by the context.

Bret's not on Sergio Garcia's level of public trolling though.

 

[Deezy]

lol @ the whole Sergio thing, since when is fried chicken a slur against blacks? Fried chicken is awesome. Who doesn't want to serve that to guests? I'm pretty sure it isn't just blacks who eat chicken. More fake outrage if you ask me, not everything should be blown up into a big deal. It's like people go out of their to point out problems to feel morally superior to others.