Trial Date Set In Hulk Hogan’s Lawsuit Against Gawker
A judge in Pinellas County, Florida, set has officially a trial for Hulk Hogan’s super-sized civil lawsuit against Gawker Media. The Tampa Tribune reports that Hogan will get his day in court on March 7, 2016, as he tries to get $100 million in damages against Gawker for posting a 2006 sex tape online.
“We had hoped to receive a trial date sooner than March 2016 but we understand the court has a very busy docket and we will work with it,” said Hogan’s attorney, David Houston, in comments published by Fox News.
Astute fans of professional wrestling will note that the trial date falls in the midst of WWE’s “road to WrestleMania,” a stretch of weeks and months leading up to the company’s biggest annual event. WrestleMania 2016 is scheduled for April 3, 2016, in Arlington, Texas.
Judge Pamela Campbell further indicated she will rule on an emergency motion seeking information as to who leaked sealed transcripts of the tapes to National Enquirer last week. As reported by Inqusitr, the transcripts included “pillow talk” between Hogan and his female companion, in which he used racial and homophobic slurs.
Although Hulk Hogan issued a public apology for his inflammatory comments, his career appears to have been irrevocably damaged by the scandal. WWE terminated its relationship with Hogan before the transcripts were published online, and longtime friends and business associates have distanced themselves from the famed wrestler and pop culture icon. Various media outlets have also reviewed and recapped other situations involving questionable conduct and sentiments by Hogan, including a conversation recorded between the wrestler and his son Nick while Nick was in jail. In that particular chat, the men laugh as Hogan says he doesn’t want to be reincarnated as an African-American.
In addition to becoming the target of public scorn, Hulk Hogan has also been and lampooned online. CM Punk joked about Hogan’s release from WWE via Twitter, and other social media outlets have become platforms for voluminous quantities of jokes and memes featuring Hogan’s name and likeness as punchlines.
History means nothing. #HulkHogan pic.twitter.com/DSotD2EKvH
— Yousif Al Jamal (@XYousifAlJamalX) July 24, 2015
Something odd has happened to my WWE Network. #HulkHogan pic.twitter.com/4PLXdMTOb1
— Jimbob (@Y2jimbob) July 24, 2015
Well Hulk Hogan @HulkHogan #HulkHogan will be trying really hard to make it on a @GFWWrestling show now.
— TNA Creative (@TNACreative) July 24, 2015
https://instagram.com/p/5uSS5LJjwi/
Some longtime wrestling fans have vowed to stand by the Hulkster as his legal and career woes unfold. WWE legend Mick Foley and former basketball star Dennis Rodman are among a handful of celebrities who have also expressed their steadfast support for wrestling’s “Immortal One.” Indeed, in the present high-stakes battle of intestinal fortitude, Hulk Hogan probably needs every friend he can get.
[Image via WWE]
