Sasha Banks found herself in the middle of the Speaking Out movement when an old interview of Sammy Guevara surfaced where he claimed he wanted to "fucking rape" Banks.
Guevara apologized for his 2016 comment and it was revealed that Banks and Guevara had an open discussion in a private phone conversation.
Speaking to Sports Illustrated, Banks didn't offer any more elaboration on her statement, but did express the importance of posting her statement.
"As you can see on social media, I left my comment out there, I made my statement,” said Banks. “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. I can’t show hate with hate. I only can show through education, dignity, and integrity.
“For me, being a role model and a leader is what I have to give back to the universe. 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.”
Banks continued, “We all have a journey and a story, and we’re able to tell people what we’ve overcome. No one’s perfect, no one’s had an easy road or an easy life, but overcoming difficulty makes us who we are. I’m so thankful for everything that I’ve ever been through since I was a kid. If I didn’t go through those things, I wouldn’t be the strongest person I’ve ever been in my whole life.”
Guevara was suspended by AEW for his comments and agreed to undergo extensive sensitivity training.
Banks has kept busy over the past few weeks, appearing on all brands at one-half of the Women's Tag Team Champions. She is scheduled to wrestle Io Shirai on Wednesday's NXT.
