It’s hard to tell which is dumber: The fact that the CNBC cable television network hired a professional wrestling villain as a financial analyst, or the fact that CNBC decided to fire him a couple of weeks later because he had acted like a professional wrestling villain in the ring.

CNBC had hired John “Bradshaw” Layfield because he gave decent analysis and was author of “Have More Money Now,” a personal finance book. But Layfield for years has been a World Wrestling Entertainment villain, most recently as an anti-immigration bigot. That was hardly a secret when CNBC hired him.

So, at a match in Munich, Layfield raised his right arm in a Nazi salute and goose-stepped around the ring. That was enough for CNBC, which fired him soon afterward.

Anyone who has watched professional wrestling shouldn’t be surprised at any of this. Some story lines involve pretty ugly topics, from racism to homophobia to sexual harassment. That’s what the villains do to work up the crowd.

As Layfield pointed out in various media interviews after the firing, he was playing a role, just as Anthony Hopkins portrayed Hannibal Lecter in “Silence of the Lambs.” That doesn’t mean he supports the Nazis any more than it means that Hopkins supports cannibalism.

Was it distasteful? Of course. Should it have been an outrageous surprise to his employer? Absolutely not.

CNBC bosses hired an employee who was likely to be controversial. Sometimes companies do that, such as bringing in a “hatchet man” to fire people. But if they then go out and fire the person for creating a controversy, management comes across as both clueless and gutless.

That’s hardly a winning combination.