SUPERSTAR BILLY GRAHAM – HUMILIATED AND EMBARRASSED
- 04/29/2007 (2:12:01 pm)
- Georgiann Makropoulos
News Conference on Tues @ 1 PM. Please HELP..
My dear friend Superstar Billy Graham asked that I put this information up on our site. Billy should NOT have been subjected to this kind of treatment. Help us, help him get the word out in the wrestling community.
Billy also wanted us to post the phone number of the Phoenix Art Museum and complain on Billy's behalf on May 1st. Their number is 602-257-1222 or by emailing them @ [email protected]. Their website is www.phxart.org .
My name is Billy Graham. I am a former World Wrestling Entertainment Champion. I am an author, an artist, a liver transplant survivor, a diabetic and a victim of catastrophic bone loss do to the disease known as avascular necrosis. My doctor, a world renowned orthopedic surgeon calls this condition, the death of a bone and it is unforgivably painful.
This past Tuesday my wife Valerie and I came to the Phoenix Art Museum to see the Rembrandt exhibit. The greeter at the door mockingly asked me, and I quote, "Where do you think you are going with that chair? “; I said, “This is my wheel chair, and I am going in to see the Rembrandt exhibit”. I then went to the ticket counter, sat on my chair and waited for Valerie to come in and purchase our tickets.
We then started walking toward the exhibit and I was stopped by Heather Paulk, who rudely told me and I quote "You cannot come in with that chair”; I asked why, and she said "your chair is too high and you might fall off of it into a painting”. The security team offered me a wheel chair that they provided and I turned it down because it did not conform to my personal disability needs. After a back and forth discussion Valerie said "So you are not going to let us in?"; the response was "no we are not". Valerie then asked if we could get a refund and they answered yes. As Valerie left to go get the car, I informed the security team that I would be suing the Museum for discrimination.
This was an extremely humiliating, embarrassing and degrading event, making me feel like I was toxic and my presence was going to contaminate their building. I was rejected, then subjected to an enormous amount of cruelty. I am angry and saddened at missing the opportunity of a lifetime to see my favorite Master, Rembrandt. This has been a defining moment in my life. This great institution tried to rob me of my dignity but they have failed. This shameful and traumatic event has caused me to become an activist for the rest of my life, I will now be a defender of the disabled.
News conference/interview opportunity – Tuesday @ 1 P.M. at the NE corner of Central & McDowell (under the Rembrandt banner) in Phoenix, AZ..
Also please get in touch with these stations, and ask that they cover the News Conference.
1.NBC Channel 12
http://AZCentral.com 602-257-1212
2.CBS Channel 5
http://kpho.com 602-264-1000
3.ABC Channel 15
http://ABC15.com 602-273-1500
4. FOX Channel10
http://MyFoxPhoenix.com 602-257-1234
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