Kofi Kingston released a lengthy statement on behalf of The New Day in regards to how they feel about Hulk Hogan‘s apology to the WWE locker room — stating they won’t associate with the wrestling legend until “genuine effort to change” is made.

As we previously reported, Hogan met with the wrestlers backstage at Extreme Rules. According to James Ellsworth, Hogan apologized for the racial slurs he was caught saying. Hulk also reminded those in attendance that he didn’t know he was being recorded at the time.

Mark Henry has said there’s currently a divide amongst black wrestlers over the backstage apology … describing it as a 50-50 split.

Now, the most prominent black tag team in wrestling have responded by writing a statement in which they admit to being indifferent towards Hogan’s apology.

Their statement can be read in full below:

To the WWE Universe and whoever else it may concern:

This will be the only statement we will make regarding Hogan’s reinstatement into WWE’s Hall of Fame. We do not wish to spend the energy debating the point, because between our kids, our external ventures, and this job, our energy is spread thin enough already, lol.

We are only writing this simply to provide an answer to the many who have bombarded us with questions on where we stand on the issue.

We preface this statement by emphasizing that this is our own opinion and may not necessarily reflect the opinion of anyone else affected.

How do we feel? Indifferent. We are not happy, or sad, angry or resentful. Who WWE puts into the HOF is totally and completely up to the company and from a career standpoint, there is no argument on whether or not Hogan should have his place. We have no problem with his re-induction in the slightest degree. It is impossible to even begin to mention the history and evolution of the business without mentioning his name and accolades.

On a personal level, when someone makes racist and hateful comments about any race or group of people, especially to the degree that Hogan made about our people, we find it difficult to simply forget, regardless of how long ago it was, or the situation in which those comments were made. But we also do not respond with more feelings of hate. Instead, we just do not associate with the people who convey or have conveyed this negative and hurtful mindset. This instance will be no different. Perhaps if we see him make a genuine effort to change, then maybe our opinion will change with him. Time will tell.

Through the course of our lives, people have used racist comments towards us and it doesn’t feel good. But if we stopped moving forward every time we were met with prejudicial hatred, then we would have never achieved our current accomplishments.

We know we are worth it, we know our kids are worth it, and most importantly, we know that
people that look like us are worth it and always have been. There isn’t a person on this planet who will be ever be able to say anything to make us think otherwise because we believe in ourselves as a people and don’t need anyones approval on that, regardless of who they are.

Having said that, his reinstatement won’t change anything for us. It will have zero effect on our ability to perform or the level of effort we will put into doing what we love to do, and that is: To deliver an entertaining product each week for our fan base.

Sincerely,

– The New Day

“Never trade your authenticity for approval.”

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet