President Of SAG-AFTRA Says Group Will "Directly Engage" Wrestlers

Gabrielle Carteris, the President of the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, gave a statement Monday on how her organization views professional wrestling.

The statement comes in the wake of WWE's release of Zelina Vega on Friday. After a reported impasse over Vega's use of third party social platforms, WWE released Vega, around which time she tweeted her support of unionization.

Spectrum Sports 360's Jon Alba reported Carteris' statement, which reads, "Wrestling is as much about media as it is sports and we are going to directly engage with members of this profession to help find ways for them to protect themselves. As more people reinvest in unions and as more working people are harassed by employers who don't want to protect them, SAG-AFTRA is committed to doing what we can to help professional wrestlers secure the protections they deserve."

Carteris tweeted support to Vega on Friday following her release, and asked Vega to reach out to her.

SAG-AFTRA represents 160,000 persons, including actors, broadcasters, musical artists, TV hosts, and other media professionals.

WWE's classification of wrestlers as "independent contractors" has earned heavier scrutiny in light of their September edict for talent to suspend third party media deals, such as with Twitch and Cameo. That order got the attention of former US Presidential candidate Andrew Yang, who has been vocal about seeking change.