WWE\u2019s First Openly Gay Female Competitor, Sonya Deville: \u201cI Don\u2019t think it needs to define me\u201d<\/p>\n
LOS ANGELES (March 12, 2018) \u2013 Today\u2019s episode of Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia features an in-depth interview with the WWE\u2019s first openly gay female wrestler, Sonya Deville. In the conversation, Deville opens up about her big break on Tough Enough, what it was like to come out as gay on national television, overcoming family struggles, and how it felt to take part in the inaugural Women\u2019s Royal Rumble and Women\u2019s Elimination Chamber match. Sonya also shares her thoughts on what it means to have Ronda Rousey join the WWE, Deville\u2019s influence and inspiration to others, and why not defining herself by her sexuality helps progress toward equality. The episode is available now on PodcastOne.com, the PodcastOne app and Apple Podcasts.<\/p>\n
Below are excerpts from the conversation:<\/p>\n
On a Potential Match with Rousey:<\/p>\n
Garcia: \u201cWhat does it mean to you to have Ronda [Rousey] in the WWE?\u201d<\/p>\n
Deville: \u201cI haven\u2019t actually said anything publicly about it yet\u2026I feel like the story me and Ronda can tell one day will be so awesome, and I think we have something special here\u2026I think that it\u2019s going to be an honor and a privilege to work in the ring with her\u2026That\u2019s the biggest compliment, is that Ronda Rousey – she\u2019s done a lot in her life. She\u2019s accomplished a lot. Besides MMA and the UFC, she was a Judo Olympian. She was a bronze medalist. And she went undefeated for so long, and she has a lot of accomplishments. So, for her to want to be here so bad, to go through contract negotiations for as long as they did with her, and to finally be here, that is such a compliment to our division and what we\u2019re doing here.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Being the First Openly Gay Woman in WWE:<\/p>\n
Deville: \u201cI guess I put a big burden on myself because I want to send out the right message and I want to talk about it properly, and I do want to make sure that people hear my story because I think that it\u2019s an interesting one that can help a lot of people. I get tweets and stuff. I tear up now just thinking about it. This little girl the other day was tweeting me \u2013 her name\u2019s Courtney \u2013 and telling me that she came out to her family because she read my post and everything. I gave her the courage\u2026that\u2019s the kind of influence I want to have. It\u2019s not just being gay. It\u2019s just being you.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Equality:<\/p>\n
Deville: \u201cThe more that it\u2019s a thing, the less that it\u2019s the norm. It needs to be the norm, you know? It needs to be just a part of what we do, and that\u2019s when we become equal\u2026We now raise our standards and that\u2019s what people are looking for…I don\u2019t think it needs to define me, in the sense that I am just another competitor, but it is something about me that I feel like I can speak on and really help other people with.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n