Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis intervened to carve out an exemption for professional wrestling in Florida’s “stay at home” order, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings revealed Monday.
DeSantis, a close ally of President Donald Trump, came under criticism for weeks as he refused calls to issue “stay at home” restrictions in spite of a growing number of coronavirus cases in the Sunshine State. DeSantis ultimately caved and issued such an order on April 3, though he included an exemption for religious services.
World Wrestling Entertainment has been airing events from the empty WWE Performance Center near Orlando. Demings told reporters on Monday that the WWE was not labeled an “essential business” that can continue to operate when the order was first issued, but DeSantis intervened. Continue reading.