Sasha Banks Reflects on Her Response to AEW's Sammy Guevara's Explicit Comments

Back on June 22 AEW star Sammy Guevara found himself in hot water when audio from a 2016 interview resurfaced in which he joked about wanting to rape Sasha Banks while working as an extra on Monday Night Raw. Guevara was promptly suspended indefinitely without pay by AEW and promptly posted multiple apologies to both his friends and Banks. "The Boss" released a statement of her own, acknowledging the situation and saying she had spoken with Guevara.

"Earlier I spoke with Sammy, he apologized and we had an open discussion," Banks wrote, signing the letter with her real name. "Words like the comments he made, jokingly or not, have absolutely no place in our society! I don't condone or tolerate this kind of behavior. What one thinks is just a side comment can have a massive impact on someone else's life, and can send the wrong message. We have to hold ourselves accountable for our actions and the words we say, and I hope this situation shows him that. I hope from this point on, in order for growth and change within our community to take place, we all can continue to have these conversations. No person, man, woman or child, should ever be subjected to a feeling of fear, or any unsafe environment. We all have to do better not just for ourselves, but for generations to come."

In a new interview with Sports Illustrated this week, Banks spoke about how she reacted to the situation.

"For me, being a role model and a leader is what I have to give back to the universe," Banks wrote. "It's not easy to be so exposed and so open and so raw, but I'm here to show people that I'm a real person, too. I am just lucky and fortunate enough to be living my dream in front of millions of people. If that connects with people, if that resonates, all I can do is be myself and hopefully show people that no matter what they go through -- whether it's good, bad, or hard -- we're all in this together.

"As you can see on social media, I left my comment out there, I made my statement. I don't feel like I need to touch upon it any more than I did, but as a role model, I have to lead by example," she added. "I can't show hate with hate. I only can show through education, dignity, and integrity."

Banks will appear on this week's episode of NXT and take on NXT Women's Champion Io Shirai in a non-title match