OCBob
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I am not the author of this, though I sort of wish I were. This whole family should be ashamed of themselves. His daughter also talked about how her Mom's new boyfriend makes her uncomfortable. That's because he's a 19 year old kid that went to school with her and her brother, and was in fact in between them in grades hehe.
On the receiving end of a wave of highly negative publicity, Hulk Hogan went into damage control mode last night on CNN’s Larry King Live.
In addressing the infamous taped jailhouse conversations he and wife Linda had with their son Nick, who is serving an eighth-month sentence for felony reckless driving, a somber Hogan tried to paint a more positive picture of himself and his family. He invoked religion on several occasions and got choked up near the end of the show.
To King’s credit – and much to my surprise – he actually asked some tough questions, and to Hogan’s credit, he answered them all and also sat there while portions of the unflattering audiotapes were played.
Nothing Hogan said on the show changed my negative perception of him, Nick and Linda, however.
When the incriminating tapes were played, Hogan’s spin attempts fell flat. He did what people usually do when they are caught saying something offensive: He said the conversations were taken out of context and he criticized the media for “reckless reporting.” Hogan seemed to be saying, “Who are you going to believe – me or your lying ears?”
Hogan kept bringing up the fact that the tapes shouldn’t have been made public in the first place. I actually agree with him, but that’s missing the point. The fact is that the tapes are out there and there’s no taking back what was said on them.
I believe what people say in private reflects their true feelings, not what they say on a talk show or when pleading for leniency before a judge. The big problem for Hogan is that he already had a credibility issue before any of this happened. He lied about using steroids on The Arsenio Hall Show in the early ’90s and he is infamous for telling some whoppers about his wrestling exploits in interviews.
Hogan, who reportedly has hired a public relations firm specializing in crisis management, would have come off much better last night had he not tried to rationalize what was on the tapes or blame the media. He should have just acknowledged that he used bad judgment in a stressful situation and said that he is embarrassed and ashamed. He also should have issued an apology to the family of John Graziano – Nick’s passenger who was left paralyzed due to the crash and will need care for the rest of his life – for the pain the insensitive remarks on the tapes have caused them.
Here’s a look at some of Hogan’s statements from last night’s show:
On Nick’s driving: He said that Nick wasn’t into drag racing, he’s into precision driving. He also said that Nick got “a couple tickets.” Actually, Nick was busted for unlawful speeding three times in the 11 months prior to the accident, for going 115 mph in a 70 mph zone, 57 in a 30 and 106 in a 70. In a telling interview that Nick did for the September issue of Rides magazine, he bragged about getting out of speeding tickets because of who his father is. He said: “In my silver Viper, I was driving from Miami to Tampa. I got pulled over going 107 [mph] and the guy let me off. He’s like, ‘Hey, I know who you are, just keep going, ya know.’ Dude, I got back on the road and two minutes later I get pulled over going 113. Another highway patrol from the same county said, ‘I just heard on the radio that my buddy pulled you over and let you go. I’m a let you go this time. It’s your second warning. You get pulled over again, you’re probably going to go to jail.’ Three minutes later, [I was] doing 123 in a 50. The guy is like, ‘Hey, I just heard you got pulled over twice in the last 10 minutes. I got to write you a ticket.’ ”
On the tape of him saying that Graziano must have done something bad for God to punish him in this way: Hogan tried to dance around this, saying that “it’s in God’s hands.” When King pressed him for a real answer, Hogan said: “Did I say things wrong? Yes. I said them incorrectly.” He blamed it on being distraught and a lack of sleep and said he was “trying to give Nick some relief.” So badmouthing Nick’s critically injured friend is supposed to make Nick feel better?
On the taped conversation in which he and Nick discuss making Nick’s release from jail into a reality show: Hogan said, “I was trying to keep his spirits up. I was trying to help my son get through this. … That statement [about brokering a deal for Nick’s reality show], if that’s something that was too cut and dry, I apologize for that. If I was wrong, I was wrong.” He also said that this snippet of their conversation was taken out of context and that they were hoping for a miracle for Graziano so that he could be involved in the proposed reality show. “I just wish that someone would play the two hours before or the hour after and please put everything in the proper context,” he said. I don’t see how that is going to change anything, but if Hogan really wanted to prove that it was taken out of context, why doesn’t he call for the release of the tape and have it played in its entirety?
On the media’s coverage: He said there was a “lynch mob mentality,” referred to the media as “irresponsible” and labeled the coverage as “tabloid terrorism.”
On the Graziano family suing him: “You forgive them, for they know not what they do,” he said. “This won’t help John. We need to move forward.” Whether you are religious or not, Hogan using the Bible passage of what Jesus said on the cross about those who put him to death as an analogy takes a lot of gall. When speaking about the entire situation, Hogan again referenced God. “This is in God’s hands. I believe things happen for a reason,” he said. “This is to make Nick a better person. In my belief, this is to make John a better person.” Again, the last part of that statement takes an incredible amount of gall..
On the receiving end of a wave of highly negative publicity, Hulk Hogan went into damage control mode last night on CNN’s Larry King Live.
In addressing the infamous taped jailhouse conversations he and wife Linda had with their son Nick, who is serving an eighth-month sentence for felony reckless driving, a somber Hogan tried to paint a more positive picture of himself and his family. He invoked religion on several occasions and got choked up near the end of the show.
To King’s credit – and much to my surprise – he actually asked some tough questions, and to Hogan’s credit, he answered them all and also sat there while portions of the unflattering audiotapes were played.
Nothing Hogan said on the show changed my negative perception of him, Nick and Linda, however.
When the incriminating tapes were played, Hogan’s spin attempts fell flat. He did what people usually do when they are caught saying something offensive: He said the conversations were taken out of context and he criticized the media for “reckless reporting.” Hogan seemed to be saying, “Who are you going to believe – me or your lying ears?”
Hogan kept bringing up the fact that the tapes shouldn’t have been made public in the first place. I actually agree with him, but that’s missing the point. The fact is that the tapes are out there and there’s no taking back what was said on them.
I believe what people say in private reflects their true feelings, not what they say on a talk show or when pleading for leniency before a judge. The big problem for Hogan is that he already had a credibility issue before any of this happened. He lied about using steroids on The Arsenio Hall Show in the early ’90s and he is infamous for telling some whoppers about his wrestling exploits in interviews.
Hogan, who reportedly has hired a public relations firm specializing in crisis management, would have come off much better last night had he not tried to rationalize what was on the tapes or blame the media. He should have just acknowledged that he used bad judgment in a stressful situation and said that he is embarrassed and ashamed. He also should have issued an apology to the family of John Graziano – Nick’s passenger who was left paralyzed due to the crash and will need care for the rest of his life – for the pain the insensitive remarks on the tapes have caused them.
Here’s a look at some of Hogan’s statements from last night’s show:
On Nick’s driving: He said that Nick wasn’t into drag racing, he’s into precision driving. He also said that Nick got “a couple tickets.” Actually, Nick was busted for unlawful speeding three times in the 11 months prior to the accident, for going 115 mph in a 70 mph zone, 57 in a 30 and 106 in a 70. In a telling interview that Nick did for the September issue of Rides magazine, he bragged about getting out of speeding tickets because of who his father is. He said: “In my silver Viper, I was driving from Miami to Tampa. I got pulled over going 107 [mph] and the guy let me off. He’s like, ‘Hey, I know who you are, just keep going, ya know.’ Dude, I got back on the road and two minutes later I get pulled over going 113. Another highway patrol from the same county said, ‘I just heard on the radio that my buddy pulled you over and let you go. I’m a let you go this time. It’s your second warning. You get pulled over again, you’re probably going to go to jail.’ Three minutes later, [I was] doing 123 in a 50. The guy is like, ‘Hey, I just heard you got pulled over twice in the last 10 minutes. I got to write you a ticket.’ ”
On the tape of him saying that Graziano must have done something bad for God to punish him in this way: Hogan tried to dance around this, saying that “it’s in God’s hands.” When King pressed him for a real answer, Hogan said: “Did I say things wrong? Yes. I said them incorrectly.” He blamed it on being distraught and a lack of sleep and said he was “trying to give Nick some relief.” So badmouthing Nick’s critically injured friend is supposed to make Nick feel better?
On the taped conversation in which he and Nick discuss making Nick’s release from jail into a reality show: Hogan said, “I was trying to keep his spirits up. I was trying to help my son get through this. … That statement [about brokering a deal for Nick’s reality show], if that’s something that was too cut and dry, I apologize for that. If I was wrong, I was wrong.” He also said that this snippet of their conversation was taken out of context and that they were hoping for a miracle for Graziano so that he could be involved in the proposed reality show. “I just wish that someone would play the two hours before or the hour after and please put everything in the proper context,” he said. I don’t see how that is going to change anything, but if Hogan really wanted to prove that it was taken out of context, why doesn’t he call for the release of the tape and have it played in its entirety?
On the media’s coverage: He said there was a “lynch mob mentality,” referred to the media as “irresponsible” and labeled the coverage as “tabloid terrorism.”
On the Graziano family suing him: “You forgive them, for they know not what they do,” he said. “This won’t help John. We need to move forward.” Whether you are religious or not, Hogan using the Bible passage of what Jesus said on the cross about those who put him to death as an analogy takes a lot of gall. When speaking about the entire situation, Hogan again referenced God. “This is in God’s hands. I believe things happen for a reason,” he said. “This is to make Nick a better person. In my belief, this is to make John a better person.” Again, the last part of that statement takes an incredible amount of gall..
