A schoolteacher in Pennsylvania found himself a target of an internal investigation by the local school district after the public became aware of his "Nazi German" pro-wrestling persona.
A video posted online by pop culture journalist Ryan Satin shows Bean making an entrance in the wrestling ring using his ‘Blitzkrieg the German Juggernaut’ persona, carrying a flag emblazoned with an Iron Cross and performing what appears to be a Nazi salute while shouting ‘Sieg Heil!’
A wrestler named Blitzkrieg "The German Juggernaut" using a nazi gimmick at a recent local show in Pennsylvania.
— Ryan Satin (@ryansatin) 18 июля 2018 г.
This video makes me sick.
Watching the guy do nazi salutes on his way to the ring while children in the crowd cheer him on like a good guy is terrifying. pic.twitter.com/wheTXDyAah
"The fact that this guy is a teacher and some of those kids in the crowd cheering for the Nazi character were his students makes this even worse," Satin remarked in a follow-up tweet.
Erin Crew, communications manager for the Spring-Ford Area School District where Bean teaches fifth and sixth grade students, told BBC that “once administrators were made aware of the video they acted immediately to conduct an ongoing internal investigation.”
"As this is a personnel matter, further details will not be addressed publicly. The actions portrayed in this video do not represent the core values of the school district," Crew added.
READ MORE: German Store Under Fire for Selling 'Nazi Toys'
However, Dino Sanna, owner of the World Wide Wrestling Alliance where Bean wrestles, described the latter as “good guy and not a hateful person,” according to The Blast news website.
He also insisted that no one has ever complained about Blitzkrieg before, arguing that the character became a popular heel (a villainous character in pro-wrestling) and adding that “everyone has a gimmick, it’s wrestling.”
