World Wrestling
Entertainment has terminated its contract with legendary wrestler Hulk Hogan.
The organization released a statement on Friday morning: "WWE terminated
its contract with Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan). WWE is committed to embracing
and celebrating individuals from all backgrounds as demonstrated by the
diversity of our employees, performers and fans worldwide."
Late
Thursday night, WWE removed virtually all references to Hogan from its website.
The WWE has not yet given an official reason for the removal, although
widespread speculation has centered on comments that Hogan may have made.
Hogan has been one of professional
wrestling's marquee attractions since the 1980s, and recently reunited with the
WWE following a six-year absence. Until the removal, his landing page (www.wwe.com/superstars/hulkhogan)
looked like this:
Hulk Hogan landing page on WWE.com
The page now reads
"You are not authorized to access this page." Links to Hogan's
merchandise in the WWE store as well as links to news articles about Hogan now
redirect to the same dead page. Hogan's image no longer
appears in the WWE's "Hall of Fame" lineup.
Hogan himself offered up a cryptic
tweet as the news was breaking across Twitter:
Hogan later released
a statement to People magazine. "Eight years ago I used
offensive language during a conversation," it read. "It was
unacceptable for me to have used that offensive language; there is no excuse
for it; and I apologize for having done it. This is not who I am. I believe
very strongly that every person in the world is important and should not be
treated differently based on race, gender, orientation, religious beliefs or
otherwise. I am disappointed with myself that I used language that is offensive
and inconsistent with my own beliefs."
The
inciting event was apparently a conversation in which Hogan, discussing his
daughter, repeatedly used the n-word in a derogatory manner. Hogan's attorney
said Hogan resigned from the WWE, which would appear to be at odds with the
organization's statement that his contract was terminated.
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