Why WWE shouldn't be applauded for their handling of the Hulk Hogan situation.
Wrestling is a pretty scummy business. Besides porn, can you name another business where so many bad things happen that are accepted or shrugged aside?
Hulk Hogan is a racist. He didn’t just use “the n word” in the context of a conversation or quoting a rap lyric, he flat out admitted that he is a racist. It was a strange admission, given his friendship throughout the years with guys like Mr. T and Dennis Rodman, but it’s what came out of his mouth.
Upon hearing this information, WWE immediately scrubbed Hogan from their website. No way would they want their product to be associated with a known racist, which is funny considering who their product is associated with.
Triple H has no problem touting his friendship with Floyd Mayweather, a man with a history of domestic violence. Mike Tyson, a convicted rapist, is in the WWE Hall of Fame. The Ultimate Warrior was a homophobe yet WWE named an annual award after him. Michael Hayes, another known racist, is still employed by the company. Steve Austin has a monthly show on the WWE Network and is on the cover of the upcoming video game. He’s also a man with a history of domestic abuse. Then there are the drug addicts and serial cheaters throughout company history.
There are very few decent people in wrestling. Some incidents are documented, most are not. Put a hidden camera in the house of any wrestler throughout history and you’re probably not going to like the results.
Hogan just happened to get caught. He’s not a victim, far from it, but he’s not the worst person in wrestling or the world either.
WWE felt they had to make an example of Hogan. They had to ax him from Tough Enough, but they felt the need to take it a step further. They felt the need to “Chris Benoit him” even though his actions are far less reprehensible than what Benoit did.
Hogan’s comments were made years ago, but because they just came out this past week, the Hulkster was taken to the woodshed by WWE. Had the tape been released the day after it was recorded, chances are we’d still be seeing Hogan on the WWE website. Enough time will pass that Hogan will slowly but surely be re-featured in WWE history. He may never again host Wrestlemania and he certainly won’t wrestle another match, but they’ll bring him up as the wrestling icon that he is.
In time, all will be forgotten. Again, wrestling is a scummy business where all forms of low-lifes are accepted and some are even put on a pedestal. Hulk Hogan has never been a model citizen. Take out all of his wrestling politics, which can be looked at as a businessman doing what he feels he needs to do in order to keep making the most money. He’s done his fair share of illegal drugs, cheated on his wife, and showed no sympathy for a kid put in a coma by his son. WWE had no problem touting him as the biggest star in the business, despite all that.
I’m not saying the company was right or wrong in how they handled the Hogan situation, I think they were right, but I don’t applaud them for getting this one right when they’ve gotten so many other decisions wrong.
They wanted to make it look like they were taking a moral stand and that they wouldn’t tolerate racism on their watch. Instead, they just reminded everyone that, while they didn’t stand by this racist, they continue to stand by other racists, rapists, cheaters, drug users, and domestic abusers.
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