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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
The Las Vegas Culinary Union continued their campaign against the UFC on Thursday, sending a letter signed by various advocacy groups requesting the removal of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson from this Saturday's UFC on Fox 6 card in Chicago.
Citing Jackson's history of mistreatment towards female media members, along with the now infamous video Jackson put out last year where he "jokingly" attempted to rape a transgendered woman in a parking garage.
Additionally, they attack the video in light of the New Year's Eve rape of a female student of Washington, D.C. trainer Lloyd Irvin by two of his fellow students in a parking garage. Further, they attack the UFC for employing lightweight Abel Trujillo, who has twice plead guilty to domestic assault of the mother of his child, and again Dana White, who they state "sets a despicable tone for fighters to follow."
Their final point was clear: the behavior Rampage and others named is unacceptable, and the UFC needs to do something about it.
"The behavior of Rampage Jackson, UFC President Dana White, and other UFC fighters is unacceptable," the letter read. "Misogynistic and sexist behavior can no longer be tolerated in the UFC. The UFC and FOX need to clean up their act in 2013 by cutting Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson from the January 26 fight card and adopting a meaningful code of conduct."
Penick's Analysis: The timing of the letter is obvious, and its yet another ploy from the Culinary Union to cast the UFC in as negative a light as possible, but on this particular subject they're not wrong. Not with Jackson, nor with Trujillo. White has still not apologized for anything he said regarding Loretta Hunt in that video blog year's back, and probably will never, but he's not quite as bad as he used to be in that regard. But Jackson's video last year was unacceptable, and it is disgusting to employ fighters who have been convicted of domestic assault like Trujillo. That said, the UFC didn't do anything to Rampage last year when the video was released, and with this being his last fight in the organization, they'll sever ties with him after Saturday anyway.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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