Alberto Del Rio reportedly slapped social media manager over racist joke

Alberto Del Rio’s release by the WWE was announced Thursday with very few details surrounding the circumstances for his departure from the organization. Slowly the story has begun to emerge.

Here’s what the WWE said in its statement Thursday:

“WWE announced the release of Alberto Del Rio due to unprofessional conduct and an altercation with an employee.”

The rumor was that Del Rio had an altercation with a social media manager for the company.

WrestlingInc.com provides details on what allegedly happened:

According to the new report, WWE’s social media manager was supposedly asked to wipe his plate clean following a meal in catering. He allegedly joked that it was Del Rio’s job to clean the plate, which could be perceived as racist by Hispanic people. Del Rio was informed of the comment, and confronted him. The individual did not apologize for his remark and then smiled at him. Fuming, Del Rio slapped him.

The WWE got defensive about the release of Del Rio and sent these tweets Friday regarding the move:

(1/2) @VivaDelRio is responsible for his own actions. If you’re angry at anyone, be angry at Alberto.

— WWE (@WWE) August 8, 2014

(2/2) There’s no excuse for a pro athlete not to conduct themselves in a professional manner.

— WWE (@WWE) August 8, 2014

There was speculation that this could be a work, but it seems pretty clear now that this is for real. And if this story is accurate, I wouldn’t say Del Rio was justified in his actions, but the social media manager was out of line.

H/T Arsen D.