Does Hulk Hogan Still Have A Place In WWE?
The Immortal Debate.
Rumours abound that WWE and Hulk Hogan are locked in talks over the latter’s return in an as yet undisclosed capacity.
WWE issued the following statement in response:
“We have had discussions with Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan) about how he can help others learn from his mistakes, however, he is not under any contract with WWE.”
It’s logical to infer that the only barrier prohibiting Hogan’s return is sponsor pressure stemming from the grisly 2015 scandal, in which the sex tape leaked by Gawker recorded also a deeply racist tirade. In conversation regarding his daughter’s relationship with an African-American man, Hogan said the following:
“I mean, I’d rather if she was going to f*ck some n*gger, I’d rather her marry an eight-foot tall n*gger worth a hundred million dollars! Like a basketball player! I guess we’re all a little racist. F*cking n*gger.”
When this 2007 audio surfaced, in 2015, Hogan was fired from his WWE ambassadorial role. In a sad and sobering sign of the times, Hogan’s rant somehow split opinion, even though, if the racist language used was not enough, he literally admitted to racism. Many of his fans were quick to forgive what they felt, with an optimistic heart, was a mere “moment of madness” that did not reflect a man they had likely conflated with his moralistic superhero pro wrestling character.
Hogan’s racism was not contained to that one moment of madness. In the same year of 2007, his son Nick was charged with a felony after speeding in the crashed car that significantly reduced the quality of life of friend and passenger John Graziano. The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office released audio tapes of the phone calls Nick made during his overnight incarceration, following a public records request. They were disturbing, in that Hogan referred to Nick as his “n*gga” and, apropos of nothing, said to Nick that he hoped they would never become reincarnated as “a couple” “blizz-ack gizz-uys”.
Moreover, Hogan and Nick seemed to blame the victim for paying a karmic toll. “God laid some heavy sh*t on that kid, man,” is how Hogan put it, in an absolute denial of his son’s culpability. CONT'D...