LogFAQs > #905394290

Dave (surprisingly intelligently IMO) talks about why WWE thought the locker room would accept Hogan, and why in reality most didnt

My own feeling on this is WWEs decision makers, who are not African-American, probably should have talked individually to the African-American talent about this subject before making this decision, to understand what many of them felt around his remarks. Instead, it appears they came in with the idea hes Hulk Hogan and they grew up with him in their childhood and hes an icon in the sport and oh well, he said some bad things a dozen years ago without realizing that to some, those things arent stuff you blow off. The fact that the unhappiness of the Hogan return seemed so much more vehement among the group his racist remarks would have stung the most isnt surprising. It would be very difficult for white executives or people who were not African-American and grew up with a hero-worship of him to understand how they would feel. And I want to make it clear that weve had contact with a number of wrestlers on the roster about this, both African-American and not African-American, and all but one, even though nobody said anything there because it wasnt their place, is that what Kofi Kingston and/or Titus ONeil said represented their thinking in most cases. This was not African Americans being upset and non-African Americans thinking everything was fine and not looking at it the same way.

And this was a group that for the most part would have been willing to accept Hogan, but felt he made himself the victim of being filmed without his knowledge and his case was used as a warning to talent as opposed to addressing the remarks or coming off as sincerely apologetic.

The reality is that he no doubt will come across as they hoped upon this realization because like everything, this is not about sincerity or evil, but simply a failure to understand the room and a younger generation of talent that didnt grow up hearing those kind of words in their daily lives, or did but no longer feels they need to ignore and accept them as part of life as their ancestors grudgingly and bitterly felt they had to.

Another thing to keep in mind is the age issue. Vince McMahon is almost 73 and comes from a different generation. Levesque turns 49 next week and he was 15 years old in 1984, when Hogan being the top star in the business. Mark Henry is 47, and grew up on Hulkamania. Kofi Kingston is 36. When he was 12, it was 1994. Hogan was a big star, but he was at the end of his babyface run, and in Boston, it was more the era of Bret Hart. Big E is 32, so when he was 14, it was 2000. Hogan was a nostalgia act in his childhood, and thats a very different emotion.

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Thank you, Eddie Guerrero.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DRlKR5nU8AA_v_C?format=jpg&name=large