In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Titus O’Neil spoke about Hulk Hogan’s racist rant and the overall topic of race in the WWE. Here are highlights:
On his goal of being WWE World Champion: “I am one-hundred percent confident that I am WWE world heavyweight championship material. That is my goal. I won tag team gold, and while I’m in a tag team, that is my goal, but champion should be the goal of every single person on the roster. Otherwise, you’re wasting your time, and you’re wasting my time.”
On race in WWE: “I’ve never been involved in the creative process in any aspect of this company, so I couldn’t tell you why there has only been one. Is it disturbing in some cases? Yes, but it’s no different than any other form of entertainment. There aren’t a lot of places, whether it’s film or television, with African-Americans as heroes. I can’t answer the question of why there has only been one, but I would definitely like to be the next African-American champion. Not because I’m African-American, but because I’ve deserved and earned the right to be WWE world heavyweight champion.”
On his “Gator Good” campaign: “We’re partnering up to try to do some really amazing things. We’re going to try to influence our alumni base. There are 400,000 active members of University’s alumni base who will go out and do good for their respective communities, with the hopes of bringing awareness to various important causes worldwide as Gators, but also as human beings. I can nominate anyone. I want to start predominantly with Gator alums, but it will definitely branch off to entertainment groups and other universities as well. We want to do it for various causes, and each week we’ll challenge people to do the ‘Gator Good.’”
On Hulk Hogan’s racist rant: “It’s a tough situation for me to talk about. It’s been dealt with by the company, but for me, I’ve heard that type of talk from people who are way different than Hulk Hogan. He made a mistake, he’s paying for it, and it’s not my call to say what he is or he is not. I just try to live my life without having to worry about anybody calling me those names.”
