World Wrestling Entertainment was justified in firing Hulk Hogan; what he said was absolutely disgusting. That is not to say I believe Hulk Hogan is a bad person, but I certainly know how he feels toward the USA’s black community.
The industry that Hogan has been a pivotal part of since the 1970s is a unique and bizarre one. Professional wrestling is on the arbitrary line between sport and entertainment. It is live athletic theatre.
I have heard a lot of fans of Hogan saying that WWE cutting ties with him was far too ruthless after everything that he has done for the business; that he made the industry what it is today and to cast him aside is hypocritical.
This opinion is idiotic.
Saying that WWE should not have severed ties with Hogan because of what he has done for the business is like saying Donald Sterling should not have been punted from the Clippers and the NBA because of everything he did to elevate the franchise.
Hogan took the WWE (then WWF) from a great professional wrestling promotion to the wrestling promotion of the world. Donald Sterling bought the Clippers in 1981 for $12.5 million and then sold the franchise last year for $2 billion.
Both individuals took a business model and evolved it into something that dominated their market. So, philosophically and ethically, what’s the difference?
Many would say that to compare Hulk Hogan to Donald Sterling might be a little harsh. But a racial tirade is a racial tirade and they deserve the same punishment.
As soon as it’s a likeable figure, actions are looked at differently. But if you can justify what Hogan said, then your thought process is seriously misguided. No such discrimination can ever be justified.
And yes, maybe his attitude can be explained by the wrestling world that he has lived in for the last four decades; the world in which racial stereotypes are littered throughout every showing of the sport. But an explanation for his words is in no way a justification.
I admit that being taped in the circumstances that he was taped in is morally questionable, but he still said what he said. He still meant and felt the words that came out of his mouth. And those words hurt and do damage to entire communities.
Hulk Hogan deserved to be fired. He is a man who exhibited incredibly racist behaviours. Discrimination is not okay and it never will be.
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