During an interview published last week in Fighting Spirit Magazine discussing the circumstances surrounding his departure from WWE, Alberto Del Rio claimed that it was not uncommon for people in positions of power in the Stamford, Connecticut-based organization to openly say racial remarks around employees under the guise of jokes. According to Del Rio, the remarks were frequently aimed toward African Americans and Hispanics.
On Aug. 7, WWE announced the release of Del Rio "due to unprofessional conduct and an altercation with an employee." Recalling the altercation, he said, "That guy, the social media guy [Cody Barbierri, WWE's then-manager of social media], made a racist jokesaying that it was my job to clean his table. Of course, I got really upset, and I asked him for an apology, but he didn't do it; instead of giving me an apology, he smiled, giving me this big "f--k you" smirk, and I slapped him. That was it. Right after that I had a conversation with Vince McMahon and all the important people in the company, and they all said, "Don't worry, nothing's going to happen. We're not saying what you did was the right thing to do, but we understand where you're coming from after getting that big insult from this guy, who instead of apologizing, he smiled at you."
He continued, "This is unfair, because we always get these racist jokes from WWE employees, and I've never been happy [about it]. I didn't say anything, because most of the people doing these racist jokes were important people in the company. It was not just to me, it was to all the Latino elements in the company, all the African Americans, but the way it is in the company, if you come from that background, you have to live with thatyou have no option, you know?"
Del Rio was initially told by WWE officials that he was going to be suspended for a few weeks for slapping Barbierri, but they decided to fire him due to concern over a lawsuit being filed after a similar incident took place last year where Big Show slapped "another social media guy" and he sued the companythis legal dispute is still ongoing. A top WWE official told Del Rio he could return once "things cool down," to which he responded that wouldn't come back if he wasn't re-hired by the end of their phone call. Del Rio reiterated that he had no plans on re-signing with WWE once his contract expired.
"As you know, and everybody else knows, I wasn't going to stay [in WWE] once my contract was up. They were like, "Well, you need to wait" and I said, "I'm not going to wait. I wasn't going to stay anyway, so if we don't fix thisif you're gonna fire me when I'm the victim and I have to hear this guy making these comments," said Del Rio.
According to Del Rio, the member of WWE management who notified him of his release would often make racial jokes around employees. Del Rio voiced his displeasure with this during their conversation, feeling that he should be setting a better example.
"The person calling me was one of the most important people in the company, and I said, "We always hear these racist jokes from you, and because you're one of the most important people in the company in this company, your other employees hear you making these stupid comments, and they think they can do it," said Del Rio. "I said, "It's just like in my house: if my son sees me spitting on the floor, he's gonna do it, because he's going to think that it's the right thing to do, because I'm the power figure in the house. In this company, it's exactly the same: when they hear you doing these racist comments all the time, and we don't say anything, because it is you, now those guys think they can go make those stupid comments."
