Evan Agostini/Associated Press

Hulk Hogan is one of the most iconic stars in the history of WWE, but the sports entertainment giant parted ways with the Immortal One on July 24, after reports emerged of the wrestler making racially insensitive statements. WWE released a statement confirming the decision, per Darren Rovell of ESPN:

According to TMZ.com, Hogan's lawyer says the wrestler resigned his position on July 23.

Hogan provided an apology in an exclusive with People.com:

Eight years ago I used offensive language during a conversation. It was unacceptable for me to have used that offensive language; there is no excuse for it; and I apologize for having done it.

This is not who I am. I believe very strongly that every person in the world is important and should not be treated differently based on race, gender, orientation, religious beliefs or otherwise. I am disappointed with myself that I used language that is offensive and inconsistent with my own beliefs.

TMZ reported on July 29 that Hogan claimed the racist comments were deemed "confidential" as part of his lawsuit with Gawker:

Hogan is on the warpath -- claiming Gawker honcho Nick Denton leaked the story about Hulk using the n-word to poison Hogan's $100 million case against Gawker ... and now he wants Denton thrown in jail. Hogan just filed new court docs in his sex tape lawsuit against Gawker -- and in the docs, he asks a judge to launch a full-blown investigation into Denton and former Gawker exec A.J. Daulerio to prove they leaked confidential details from the sex tape video, including the n-word story. [...] In legal docs, filed in a Florida state court, Hogan claims the judge in his $100 million lawsuit deemed the n-word portion of the video "confidential" -- and blocked all parties from making it public.

The move came after many noticed Hogan was being cleaned from the WWE website. According to Stephen Douglas of The Big Lead, WWE has deleted all mentions of Hogan from WWE.com and removed his merchandise from its online shop.

Dylan Howard and Lachlan Cartwright of The National Enquirer reported Hogan went on a racially insensitive tirade to then-lover Heather Clem regarding his daughter Brooke (WARNING: Comments contain NSFW language many may find offensive):

"She is making some real bad decisions now," Hulk said, sources tell us. "My daughter Brooke jumped sides on me. I spent $2-3 million on her music career, I’ve done everything like a jack*** for her.” The bitter bodybuilder continued, "The one option Brooke had, Brooke’s career besides me, is [to] sell beach records." At that point on the tape, the former "Hogan Knows Best” star bemoaned how a "black billionaire guy" had offered to fund her music career.

Hogan continued his tirade, per Howard and Cartwright:

"I mean, I don’t have double standards. I mean, I am a racist, to a point, f*cking n*ggers. But then when it comes to nice people and sh*t, and whatever." [...] "I guess we’re all a little racist. F*cking n*gger."

The six-time WWE champion returned to the fold last year as an ambassador after seven years away from the company. He has made sporadic appearances on WWE programming and even served as the host of WrestleMania 30 in New Orleans.

Hogan has spoken openly about having one last match at WrestleMania, but his hopes of competing on the Grandest Stage of Them All have been dashed.

There is no question WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon owes much of WWE's success to Hogan. Hogan was the promotion's top star when it truly took off in the wake of the original WrestleMania in 1985.

The door has closed on Hogan's chances of continuing with WWE, and unlike previous departures, it's unlikely it will open again for him.

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