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Hulk Hogan begs for forgiveness, blames South Tampa 'culture' for racist rant (w/video)

 
Terry Bollea stands between attorneys David Houston, left, and Charles Harder after a 2012 press conference addressing the lawsuits he filed against Heather Clem and Bubba the Love Sponge Clem, and Gawker Media. [Eve Edelheit, Times]
Terry Bollea stands between attorneys David Houston, left, and Charles Harder after a 2012 press conference addressing the lawsuits he filed against Heather Clem and Bubba the Love Sponge Clem, and Gawker Media. [Eve Edelheit, Times]
Published Sept. 1, 2015

It was the South Tampa environment he grew up in that made it second nature to use the n-word, Hulk Hogan said Monday in a tearful apology on Good Morning America in which he pleaded for forgiveness for a racist rant that was caught on videotape.

Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, grew up in South Tampa and went to Robinson High School, one of the first integrated high schools in the Tampa Bay area. Bollea owns Hogan's Beach, a popular restaurant on the Courtney Campbell Causeway, and other businesses in the area.

The wrestling legend's career took a body blow in July when a recording from eight years ago surfaced in which Bollea says, "I mean, I am a racist, to a point," and uses a racial slur several times. He said he was mad at his daughter, Brooke, and her then-boyfriend and had no idea he was being taped.

"The … the environment I grew up in South Tampa and all my white friends, all my black friends, to hear the word on a daily basis when they'd greet me in the morning, that's what they'd say to me, 'Good morning,' so-and-so," he said. "I think that was part of the culture and the environment I grew up in, and I think that's fair to say."

The tape may be tied to Bollea's other major scandal: a sex tape involving Bollea and Heather Cole, the former wife of Bubba the Love Sponge Clem, Tampa's pre-eminent radio shock jock.

The sex tape spurred a bitter lawsuit against Gawker Media Co., which owns a gossip website and published Bollea's tape in 2012. Bollea has sued for invasion of privacy and wants $100 million in damages.

But the racist rant wasn't part of the sex tape scandal until July, when it was reported by the National Enquirer.

That's when Hulk Hogan was fired from the WWE and the legendary pro wrestler's records were scrubbed from WWE media and removed from its video games, and he was fired from WWE Tough Enough.

In an emotional sit-down interview with Good Morning America's Amy Robach aired Monday, Bollea said he considered suicide as his world was crumbling.

"I was completely broken and destroyed and said, 'What's the easiest way out of this?' I mean, I was lost," he said.

Asked whether he was suicidal, Hogan replied, "Yes, I was."

Then, Robach asked: "Are you a racist?"

"I'm not a racist, but I never should have said what I said. It was wrong. I'm embarrassed by it," he said, but added: "People need to realize that you inherit things from your environment. And where I grew up was South Tampa, and it was a really rough neighborhood, very low income. And all my friends, we greeted each other saying that word."

He described the WWE's actions as "devastating" and begged fans to forgive him.

"Oh, my gosh. Please forgive me. Please forgive me," he said. "I think if you look at the whole picture of who Hulk Hogan is, you can see over all the years that there's not a racist bone in my body."

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Contact Sharon Kennedy Wynne at swynne@tampbay.com. Follow @SharonKWn.