From wrestlingobserver.com
Dave's note: This is a letter I received from a current name wrestler. I'm aware of who the person is, but for obvious reasons, has asked not to be identified. The views are his and don't necessarily reflect the views of anyone else.
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As unpopular as it may be, I want to be one of the first and only people to defend Rob Feinstein. Unfortunately, I am forced to remain anonymous. Why? Because I am currently employed as a wrestler by the WWE and I fully believe that if I were to reveal my true identity, I would certainly face prejudice and discrimination directed at myself from fans, other wrestlers and the WWE in general. That is just the way things are, and for now, I am willing to accept that. But, with that being said, I plead with you: stop seeing Rob Feinstein as a pervert and start seeing him as he really is. A Victim.
Now, I am not going to say Rob is without fault. For a man who is 32 years old, fooling around with a 14 year old is illegal. No Doubt. Immoral? That is for each individual to decide. But do not decide it based on what society tells us is moral or immoral. Base it on how you would react in a similar situation in a similar condition.
Now, based on the transcripts of the chat, there is a pretty good chance that had Brandon actually existed and looked like he did in whatever picture Perverted-Justice.com. sent to Rob (which for some reason they have not revealed to the public), than maybe Rob would have fooled around with Brandon. But than again, maybe he would not have. We will never know, and maybe Rob himself doesn't really know. If you review the transcript, Rob obviously had doubts as to if he should pick up Brandon or not. Now maybe this doubt was based on the fear of possible police entrapment, but maybe it was based on the guilt of wanting something that he knows he should not have, like the guilt someone who is dieting has when desiring a desert. Obviously, cheating on a diet and dealing with homosexual tendencies which could be illegal are 2 very, very different things. But we must ask ourselves, how different are they? In both instances, you know they are wrong but you may not be able to resist. Does that make you evil? I do not think so. I think it makes you a victim. A victim of nature, a victim of your own predetermined tendencies, and a victim of the pressures of society. But not evil. Just a victim of circumstances that you cannot control..
Now lets look at what Rob did. And what he did not do. He did not fool around with a 14 year old boy. And if you closely review the transcripts, there is absolutely no indication that he ever has been with any underage boys. It seems that he has had a live-in boyfriend for the past 2 years or so whom it appears Rob was faithful to, whom he even tells Brandon in the chat that he loved and supported. The employee of Perverted-Justice.com loved pointing out in the chat every little lie Rob said, but if you really look at the chat without bias, Rob was actually a lot more honest than you would expect a closeted, successful semi-famous business man to be. He told Brandon about his ex boyfriend, his feelings for him, how much it hurt him when he left him, his profession, his name, his early experiences with homosexuality and how difficult growing up in and currently living in a very anti-gay society was for Rob. If you can get past your own prejudices against homosexuality, and get past your knee-jerk reaction of Rob is a sick child molester and really read the chat, than I think Rob comes across as a troubled young guy looking for companionship after a rough breakup. Throw in the fact that Rob feels he had to be closeted based on societies prejudice, and I am sure he has some mental and emotional issues that clouded his judgment. I am sure I am in the minority here, but after reading the transcript and seeing the news footage, I felt horrible for Rob. This was not a victimless crime. The victim, however, I feel was Rob.
But we get back to the facts of the situation. Rob did drive 40 miles to pick up someone he knew was 14 to possibly or probably fool around with. Sexual contact with anyone, male or female, under the age of 16 or 18, depending on the country and/or the state you are in, is illegal. So Rob was, apparently or possibly, willing to break a law. But how immoral is that? Just think about it for a second objectively. Try and eliminate your prejudices against homosexuality and against Rob, and what society tells us is right and wrong. At 14 you are a freshman in high school. And, if I am going to be objective, I must admit that most 14 year olds look very young as opposed to 16 and 18 year olds who begin looking like young adults. At 14, most children look like a child, as opposed to a young adult. But, we never got to see the picture of Brandon. He may have looked older and more mature. He definitely sounded older and mature to Rob, and he even said to Rob that he can easily pass for 18 or older. That does not take away from the fact that Rob knew he was 14, but it helps you understand, to some extent, what Rob's mindset might have been.
At 14, like I said, you are a freshman in high school. I know when I was 14, I was making serious and important choices about life, my goals and about sex and alcohol and drugs. I was old enough to understand what I was doing and I knew the consequences of my actions. So how immoral is it, if at the age of 14, I want to experiment sexually with a 32 year old? And how different is it morally, if that 32 year old is a female or a male? We all know it is illegal. But what is the age that you really understand something like sex and sexuality? Is it 16 or 18, like the law says, or is it 15 or 14 or 13? Is there that big of a difference between being 17 years, 364 days old and 18 years old? It is just 1 day, but society has determined that that 1 day is the difference between legal and illegal and in some people's minds between moral and immoral. Just because something is illegal, does not necessarily make it immoral, and vice-a versa.
Do not be sheep. Be a shepherd and determine for yourself, without prejudice and bias, just how immoral Rob Feinstein is. I know I have, and I know that I am almost certainly in the minority, but I do not think Rob is immoral. I think he is a troubled young guy probably with many issues, and he is a victim, but in my opinion, not immoral. I feel for him and I hope he has the strength to get thru this.
