WWE issued the following:
STAMFORD, Conn., November 22, 2021 – Special Olympics and WWE (NYSE: WWE) today announced a multi-year extension of their global partnership to help create inclusion through sports. WWE will continue to support Special Olympics Unified Sports®, which brings together people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team. It was inspired by a simple principle: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding.
WWE Superstars will continue to engage with Special Olympics athletes all around the globe through Unified Sports®. Over the past few years, WWE Superstars have participated in Unified soccer in Italy, Unified flag football in Arizona, Unified bocce in Las Vegas, Unified soccer in UAE along with several other events, panels, and leadership conferences. Superstars have also reached out to Special Olympics athletes to encourage them in training and to congratulate them for achievements.
“WWE has been an incredible Global partner to our movement over the past 5 years and we are so excited to announce that we will continue our collective impact for years to come both domestically and around the world,” said Special Olympics CEO Mary Davis. Davis added “When we think of how our partners have stepped up during this difficult time, WWE comes to mind. Not only are they supporting us financially, but they continue to help us find innovative ways to reach our athletes for example, through the launch of our online fitness series School of Strength, and talent engagement for our first-ever Gaming for Inclusion event. WWE also supported countless virtual engagements with Superstars that lifted up our athletes’ spirts while in-person activities were cancelled.”
“WWE’s bond with Special Olympics has become one of the most fulfilling partnerships in our company’s history,” said WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon. “The determination of Special Olympics athletes to consistently persevere in life is truly an inspiration, and we look forward to supporting their mission for years to come.”
The multi-year extension also includes support as a Gold Partner for the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games in Orlando, FL where the state-of-the-art WWE Performance Center is located and where many of the Superstars call home. The sport of Powerlifting will also be presented by WWE at the 2022 USA Games.
WWE’s partnership with Special Olympics dates back to the 1995 World Games in New Haven, and more recently has included partnerships with the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle, the 2019 Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi and an on-going corporate partnership with Special Olympics Connecticut. Special Olympics was named 2018 Business Partner of the Year at the annual WWE Business Partner Summit.
About Special Olympics
Founded in 1968, Special Olympics is a global movement to end discrimination against people with intellectual disabilities. We foster acceptance of all people through the power of sport and programming in education, health, and leadership. With more than six million athletes and Unified Sports partners in over 201 countries and territories and more than one million coaches and volunteers, Special Olympics delivers more than 30 Olympic-type sports and over 100,000 games and competitions in a typical year. Engage with us on: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn and our blog on Medium. Learn more at www.SpecialOlympics.org.
About WWE
WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The Company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family-friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE’s TV-PG programming can be seen in more than 900 million homes worldwide in 28 languages through world-class distribution partners including NBCUniversal, FOX Sports, BT Sport, Sony India and Rogers. The award-winning WWE Network includes all live pay-per-views, scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand library and is currently available in more than 180 countries. In the United States, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock, is the exclusive home to WWE Network.
Additional information on WWE (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com.
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Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks relating to: the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on our business, results of operations and financial condition; entering, maintaining and renewing major distribution agreements; a rapidly evolving media landscape; WWE Network (including the risk that we are unable to attract, retain and renew subscribers); our need to continue to develop creative and entertaining programs and events; the possibility of a decline in the popularity of our brand of sports entertainment; the continued importance of key performers and the services of Vincent K. McMahon; possible adverse changes in the regulatory atmosphere and related private sector initiatives; the highly competitive, rapidly changing and increasingly fragmented nature of the markets in which we operate and greater financial resources or marketplace presence of many of our competitors; uncertainties associated with international markets including possible disruptions and reputational risks; our difficulty or inability to promote and conduct our live events and/or other businesses if we do not comply with applicable regulations; our dependence on our intellectual property rights, our need to protect those rights, and the risks of our infringement of others’ intellectual property rights; the complexity of our rights agreements across distribution mechanisms and geographical areas; potential substantial liability in the event of accidents or injuries occurring during our physically demanding events including without limitation, claims alleging traumatic brain injury; large public events as well as travel to and from such events; our feature film business; our expansion into new or complementary businesses and/or strategic investments; our computer systems and online operations; privacy norms and regulations; a possible decline in general economic conditions and disruption in financial markets; our accounts receivable; our indebtedness including our convertible notes; litigation; our potential failure to meet market expectations for our financial performance, which could adversely affect our stock; Vincent K. McMahon exercises control over our affairs, and his interests may conflict with the holders of our Class A common stock; a substantial number of shares are eligible for sale by the McMahons and the sale, or the perception of possible sales, of those shares could lower our stock price; and the volatility of our Class A common stock. In addition, our dividend is dependent on a number of factors, including, among other things, our liquidity and historical and projected cash flow, strategic plan (including alternative uses of capital), our financial results and condition, contractual and legal restrictions on the payment of dividends (including under our revolving credit facility), general economic and competitive conditions and such other factors as our Board of Directors may consider relevant. Forward-looking statements made by the Company speak only as of the date made and are subject to change without any obligation on the part of the Company to update or revise them. Undue reliance should not be placed on these statements. For more information about risks and uncertainties associated with the Company’s business, please refer to the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” sections of the Company’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, our annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
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