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By: Jason Bent, MMATorch Columnist "I don’t like gays. Write that down in your little notebook. I don’t like gays." -(reported by ESPN)-
UFC Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar
"You fa**ot! Yeah, you heard me. You fa**ot!" -(said to Kansas City WE Johnnie Morton ) -
Former Detroit Lions President, Matt Millen, 2003
"Why should I care about the fans? They’re just a bunch of a**holes and fa**ots here." -
Former Relief Pitcher for the Chicago Cubs and current Washington National, Julian Tavarez, 2001
"Imagine having to take the 7 train to (Shea Stadium in New York) looking like you’re in Beirut next to some kid with purple jair, next to some queer with AIDS, right next to some dude who got out of jail for the fourth time, right next to some 20-year old mom with four kids. It’s depressing."-
Former MLB Relief Pitcher, John Rocker, Sports Illustrated, 2000
"You are not writing, you are looking."-
Former New England Patriot TE Zeke Mowatt to Boston Herald reporter Lisa Olsen before he began swinging his genitalia in her face and daring her to "touch it."
"Classic b**ch"-
Former New England Patriots owner, Victor Kiam, 1990, referring to Boston Herald reporter Lisa Olsen after the scandal involving Zeke Mowatt and a few other players in the locker room when the above incident took place.
"[S]hut the f**k up…whoever gave you that quote is a p***y, and a f***ing fa**ot and a f***ing liar…"-
UFC President Dana White in response to an article written by Sherdog’s Loretta Hunt before he continued further and also referred to Ms. Hunt as a "f***ing dumb b**ch."
I could go on and on and on, sadly, when it comes to examples of professional athletes, team owners and team Presidents making comments that should never, ever be made publicly at any time. UFC President Dana White is just the latest and quite possibly one of the most powerful men in sports to have ever done something so unthinkable.
Dana White is not a majority owner of the company, but he does have a 10% stake and is the President of the UFC while also being the face of the company to just about everyone in the general public. I can understand that he may have thought these things as all of us have said some choice words simply because someone cut us off in traffic, but he took it further and not only said them aloud but decided it would make great sense to record this and post the video for all to see.
As brilliant of a marketer as White is and as passionate as he is about fighters conducting them in a manner that best represents both the company and the sport it is unbelievable that he felt that this tirade should be recorded for posterity and available to be viewed by everyone. This is the guy who canned "TUF" fighter Jesse Taylor for kicking out a limousine window and being a general ass inside of a Fertitta-owned casino; but it wasn’t as if Taylor made a video blog on his feelings about minorities or gay marriage and decided to have it screened at Times Square, which is essentially what White has done.
Jon Koppenhaver, now known by "War Machine" as he changed his name legally to this catchy little moniker, was released from the UFC for posting several MySpace blogs about Evan Tanner’s death and for rejecting a fight offered by the UFC. Old "War Machine" wasn’t done just yet as he was signed by Bellator Fighting Championship and then fired once more due to his MySpace blog, but this time his comments disparaged President Barack Obama and even made the statement that he hopes "someone smokes that f***er," which is just amazing in that he thought this was something to share with the public before getting a visit from some Secret Service agents who surely didn’t find this to be humorous in the slightest. Koppenhaver followed all of this up by beating up someone in a casino back in February while being on probation for doing the same exact thing. Not exactly a man who makes the wisest decisions in life starting with the legal change of his name and stopping possibly never, for there are certainly some more colorful comments and public beatings left in his reserve tank for the years to come.
Koppenhaver is widely considered to be an idiot due to these actions, and I would have to agree with them based upon his track record, but the UFC canned this guy specifically over the blog about Tanner, and yet here is UFC President Dana White going one step further because instead of blogging he opted to record a video of his thoughts and feelings. By no means am I even insinuating that I am ok with or agree with anything that Koppenhaver posted in regards to Tanner, but his comments were not exactly all that much worse than what White himself has just said in his diatribe against Loretta Hunt.
None of us should ever try to impose our will on another regardless of how we feel about someone’s particular choice in life. If you like to drink Coca-Cola you should not have 100 angry Pepsi drinkers waiting on your lawn to greet you because they feel you are wrong. The same goes for those who are homosexual, in that what they choose to do in their personal life is their choice and it is fine by me. A lot of people have harsh feelings about other people and this could be due to sexual preference, color of skin, net worth, education level, height or lack thereof, obesity or just about any other reason you can think of. Just because no one says these things publicly does not mean that they do not harbor such prejudice, and we would be fools for imagining that everyone who has not stuck their foot in their mouth is a saint because it simply is not true.
However, you should always keep these feelings to yourself, and this is twice as important for those in the public eye because anything they say will be broadcast all over the world and quoted for all of eternity. If your Uncle Joey tells some racist jokes while drunk at your Mom’s house on Christmas it might mean that Uncle Joey gets cut off from the bar and taken home by someone, but odds are that no one else will ever hear those remarks. Not so for a guy like Dana White who says the "F" word more than probably anyone on the planet, as he tries to use this to perpetuate some sort of badass outlaw character of sorts.
Your Uncle Joey may not know any better, and you could truly say that he is ignorant while also admitting that he is racist, in much the same way that we may view "War Machine" as more than a knucklehead but rather a toxic human being, but it isn’t as if we should expect so much more from these folks. Yes, they should conduct themselves better, and especially so in the case of Koppenhaver who again is in the public eye and used his celebrity to stand upon a soapbox and ensure that he remains unemployable for life. I mean there is probably a guy who never went to school past the 8th grade who has 5 DUI arrests and was a convicted sex offender who currently mops up the peep booths at the local adult bookstore who could probably land another job easier than "War Machine" will. It is because he is in the public eye and has a job that a gaggle of folks are willing to saw their left arm for who are talented enough to take his place, and not only twice as hungry but smart enough to not give this sport a black eye in the same manner that he did.
Dana White has committed a crime of sorts which is on par with damned near anything that Koppenhaver has ever done, and what is worse is that White is the UFC President and the public face to the point that he appears on the cover of the DVD for best clips from ‘The Ultimate Fighter.' White is not ignorant, and I have to believe that he knows better, but he is worse for having the balls to think he is so untouchable that he can make such remarks.
Dana White knows that the UFC fighters are scared of him. There are abused children who fear spilling Daddy’s bourbon less than there are fighters who are willing to even raise an eyebrow at Dana White. Jon Fitch knows all about this, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if Fitch was brought in and forced to kiss Dana’s bare ass in much the same way that Randy Marsh had to kiss Jesse Jackson’s on an episode of ‘South Park.' I can just see Dana pulling down his Rock & Republic jeans and bending over the desk while the Fertitta brothers point and White says, "go on, apologize." Dana White has cultivated this rogue outlaw character to the point that he believes all of the press clippings and possibly has become this cartoon character for good. I mean this is the guy who once dressed like he had just popped out of a Chess King store in 1987 with the receding hairline and the gracious demeanor who stood in the background of UFC events. Now, Dana White has the "Vic Mackey" from ‘The Shield’ complex going on mixed with a little bit of "Tony Soprano" and Andrew "Dice" Clay. He drives vehicles with oversized rims complete with spinners and steps out looking similar to Tom Atencio of "Affliction", who at this point just happens to look like a douche. White not only looks like one but he has the attitude to match, and he has been allowed to run wild for so long that it is possible the genie may not be able to be forced back into the bottle.
Dana White’s apology is just one of those standard apologies made publicly in order to try and diffuse the statement and fool folks into believing he meant none of what he said. He meant every single word and these were his real thoughts on the matter, and he is simply just apologizing for having made those remarks for public consumption. It is a non-apology apology as it is more along the lines of "you weren’t supposed to hear that" rather than "I didn’t really mean what I said." If you call someone fat it is because you view them as fat and this is how you feel. To apologize to the person after the fact does nothing to change what was said and surely does not change the fact that you still think they are fat but maybe wish they hadn’t heard you or you could have kept quiet.
I don’t know what should be done about this nor do I have even the slightest clue as to what sort of punishment would be fitting. Apologies mean nothing, and so too would donating money to GLAAD or forcing Dana White to watch a weekend marathon of ‘Queer as Folk’ while his eyes are held open in a similar fashion to the "Ludovico technique" from ‘A Clockwork Orange.' After all of this we could have Dana White show up at a "House of Ruth" and hand out turkeys while signing DVD copies of ‘The Burning Bed’ and again nothing could ever change what has already been done and the damage caused by it.
I am certain that Loretta Hunt has been called worse names, and certainly has been subjected to this by the anonymous folks who lurk on the message boards of the internet, but this probably doesn’t bother her nor do I feel she is shaken or frazzled by White’s remarks. Obviously she is hurt as any human being is when disparaging remarks are made about them in combination with discrediting what they do for a living, but I believe she has already moved past this and stands by her story with blinking an eye. Which is good for her and no one should be crying for her or trying to defend her honor. She was doing her job and doing it well, and she will continue to do so without the need for anyone to show up on the white horse and save the day for her. This is no longer about Ms. Hunt at all but rather about what really is next for Dana White and the UFC in terms of this public embarrassment suffered by the company.
Vince McMahon is the President of World Wrestling Entertainment and he has not only played an evil character on screen but also has been one in real life to both wrestlers under contract as well as the time he was being interviewed by Bob Costas and decided to basically challenge him to a fight. McMahon is the most powerful man in the world of professional wrestling both behind the scenes and in the public eye and Dana White is quite similar. White again only holds a 10% stake in the company, but he is the face of the UFC publicly and there are probably a good many casual fans who imagine that he is in fact THE owner of the promotion. I get it that White looks to a guy like McMahon for some inspiration, as McMahon has crushed every competitor in his path while establishing his brand as the only brand that matters in the world of wrestling. White clearly wishes for the same with the UFC and is looking to rule with an iron fist and strike down all who would even dare to challenge him. His drive is there and his passion for this sport is unmatched, but he has undone a lot of the good with remarks such as the ones he made and it is a pity for everyone else.
It is a shame for the fighters who need the UFC to gain a larger presence in the world in order for them to become bigger stars and have other avenues to earn a living. It is a shame for the fans who now have to not only deal with people who tell them that this sport is "barbaric" but also that the company is run by a homophobic, misogynist who likes to speak as if he is a rapper intent on "keepin’ it real."
Dana White is honest. He said what he truly feels and he never holds back anything ever, and in some ways this is much better than the b.s. artist who lies to everyone but operates differently behind closed doors. If someone is an a**hole it is better to know it upfront and not to find it out later on, as you will likely feel betrayed to have once viewed this person in a more positive light. I like that we know White is honest and that he can truly be an a**hole, but this does no one any good and at this point I have to say I probably would rather he yell in his office with the door shut to get it out of his system before delivering a carefully constructed statement than for him to shoot off his mouth as he has done.
I think the best thing that Dana White can do is admit he is human and drop the facade of this gangster for a moment and just show himself to be a human being who is just as flawed as anyone else. I would like Dana White to think twice before making statements, and I would also like him to take a look inside his own house before he wishes to criticize a fighter for acting in an unprofessional manner. White’s expectations of employee conduct while he acts like a loon is equivalent to Enron having fired someone for stealing some company pens or some coffee from the break room. You have to set the tempo as the boss and act in a way that is professional in order to show others how they should conduct themselves, and to save yourself from looking as bad as some of the out of control athletes in the sport. It all begins and ends with Dana White on this one and I would rather he not go away and hide and I would rather he not pull a Michael Richards and stage some ridiculous public apology as a way of making things better. I want him to make things better by starting with himself and showing others how to act, which in the long run will create a better environment for everyone and possibly limit these sorts of things from happening.
Dana White does not need to step down, but he does need to change, and in doing so it would mean more than any apology ever could. Saying you are sorry fixes nothing, but seeing that it never happens again while making sure that you can be viewed as a man to respect will change everything. I’d rather Dana White take a big step forward rather than just putting his foot in his mouth and hiding for a while. He can make it better by making a difference and making a change in himself while showing everyone that he can conduct himself in a professional manner.
If someone wishes to fight for the UFC they have to show they are worthy and prove it, and I expect the same thing from a man who wishes to continue as the President of the UFC and the public face. Prove to us that you belong and that you are different from anyone else who has ever made such comments, and show us that you are not a hypocrite who will fire fighters for similar or lesser actions while engaging in them himself. No one else can fix this and no one can make Dana White do anything at all; he just needs to do it all by himself and for all of the right reasons, such as his company image and the bottom line, which should be more then enough to motivate him to move in the right direction.
Because I have to believe that Dana White would hate to see what happens when "dumb b**ches" and "fa**ots" quit ordering the PPV events, buying tickets to events or purchasing UFC merchandise.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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