Hulk Hogan: Wrestling Fans Should Forgive The Hulkster

WE ALL LEARN PRETTY EARLY ON IN LIFE: EVERYONE MAKES MISTAKES.

Nearly two months ago, a transcript was released of a racially insensitive tirade by Hulk Hogan that took place nearly 10 years ago during a hidden camera sex tape. If you aren’t familiar with what took place, please read the original story as posted by The National Enquirer.

Wrestling fans were quick to judge, WWE was swift in removing Hulk Hogan from his current contract & the media hovered over Hogan like vultures who couldn’t wait to pick up the scraps.

As a lifelong Hulkamaniac, I was initially really disappointed. And sad.

I immediately came to The Hulkster’s defense on social media.

(Those tweets are still available in my July Twitter feed @JayAlletto for your viewing pleasure.)

I did not and will not condone what Hulk Hogan said in the audio that I have yet to hear, but there’s a fine line between anger towards one or two people of a different race and “being a racist.”

I don’t think Hulk Hogan, or Terry Bollea (the man behind The Hulkster) is a racist. This was an angry tirade by a man who had a lot of resentment towards his wife, daughter & his overall position in life.

(The definition of a racist: poor treatment of or violence against people because of their race or the belief that some races of people are better than others.)

I think it is time for wrestling fans to collectively forgive Hulk Hogan after his Good Morning America appearance, where he was able to tell his side of the story and humbly ask for your forgiveness. Everyone says things behind closed doors in private (especially after sex) that they would never make public, whether they’re true sentiments or not.

 

Again, I cannot and will not condone what he said, but he’s from a generation & environment where using racial slurs was commonplace.

I was born in 1984 in New Jersey, and even I grew up in a home where racial slurs were spoken on a much too often basis. It’s a sad reality that the most offensive and disgusting of words are spoken, and it will take generations of work for them to be washed away. We live in a VERY politically correct society & the reaction by everyone was predictable & deserved. But taking a step back and observing the entire picture is important.

There’s also this underlying fact that Hogan was set-up by his former friend, Bubba The Love Sponge, a prominent radio host in Florida, & Bubba’s wife, Heather Clem. Hogan had no idea he was being recorded and there is a huge lawsuit pending against the website Gawker, who released the video in 2012 and is also responsible for releasing the aforementioned tirade.

As a society, we are ALWAYS waiting for someone to screw up so we can jump aboard the hate train and point the finger at a situation that we don’t know anything about. Kicking a man while he is down seems to be the American way. Sitting behind a keyboard slinging insults & destructive criticism has become the new normal. EVERYONE has a voice.

And the hate that filled my Twitter timeline on July 10, 2015 was astonishing. How could everyone forget the amazing moments that Hulk Hogan provided to us as wrestling fans? How he helped build the business that we all love!

And we couldn’t possibly forget about his charity or Make-A-Wish Foundation work, could we?

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In 2010, Hulk Hogan released a book entitled “My Life Outside The Ring.” This book chronicled many personal struggles that were taking place during his life while largely away from the pro wrestling business. He was in a terrible state of mind, where he was constantly turning to drugs & alcohol as a way of self medication. As he stated in the interview above (and the story is told by Hogan in the book), he was suicidal. He was in the middle of a multi-day drug and alcohol binge with a gun in his hand contemplating suicide.

His wife divorced him, his daughter’s music career was fledgling & his son was in a life altering car accident that critically injured his friend. Hulk was at rock bottom…no question about it. These circumstances would shake anyone to their core.

He wasn’t the Hulk Hogan that some of you reading this grew up idolizing. He was a beaten down, self-destructive Terry Bollea that had enough of the life that he chose to live. How many pro wrestlers become casualties of their lifestyle choices? And how many others fail to transition successfully to a life outside of the business?

While the gun was in his hand, Hogan received a phone call that changed his life. That phone call was from his friend, Laila Ali.

In his late 50s, Hogan’s story started to become one of redemption. He got back involved in the wrestling business, found peace with his daughter & started putting his energy into a new found faith.

Over the past few years, Hulk Hogan has definitely turned over a new leaf. He found happiness once again and was able to reconnect with the WWE Universe that he had left behind during the tumultuous years of his life. Hogan began to patch up relationships that were tarnished in the past.

In his early 60s, Hulk Hogan’s story became one of redemption and there is no doubt that this is just another challenge in his way. Hulk Hogan always overcomes the odds.

We have all made mistakes in our lives. And NOBODY is perfect. Hulk Hogan has admitted his wrong doings and has apologized to his fans, his family, the people the 10 year old tirade was directed towards…what else could he possibly do to earn your forgiveness?

Oh yeah, he’s going to make it his mission to share his mistakes & the consequences suffered from his mistakes to people across the country.

Wrestling fans are the most passionate fans in the world. We need to pull together and let Terry Bollea, the human being behind Hulk Hogan, know that we forgive him for his wrong-doings. That we appreciated the moments that he has provided us throughout the years. There will never be another Hulk Hogan and we need to cherish him while he is still around.

There’s a quote that I would like to share from President George W. Bush. This quote has stuck with me for a long time: