In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Hulk Hogan spoke about why the WWE released him and revealed he hasn’t spoken to Vince McMahon since it happened. Here are highlights:
On why WWE released him: “They had to do what was best for business. Triple H was telling me the USA Network was reacting very badly, and they had to make a quick decision, and that was to put me out to pasture. They were under heavy fire and they were scrambling.”
On WWE not contacting him about his comments: “That’s not characteristic of what the WWE does. Vince McMahon reaches out and helps people. If you’re a drug abuser or you abuse alcohol, Vince McMahon and the WWE reach out and help people. So what’s so uncommon about this was they took the symptoms, said, ‘Oh my god, there’s a symptom of being a racist,’ and threw me away. They usually go to the source. They’ve known me for over 30 years and they know I’m not a racist, so they should have went to the source. I don’t use the word, ever, except for in that moment of anger, so I wish WWE went to the source instead of the symptoms. I could have explained I’ve tried every day since then to be a better man.”
On not being a racist: “Yes, I said it. I’m accountable for it, and I’m so sorry. But the real people who know me, they know I’m not a racist. I’ve got a lot of support from the African-American community. Most people know who I am, and I’m just so sorry I was in a situation where I was venting and I was mad. So for the people who don’t understand, I hope they take a good look at who I really am.”
