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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
When Bellator MMA made the conscious decision to employ Jon "War Machine" Koppenhaver, they knew precisely what his history was. They even played up him getting out of jail for promotion's sake, and tried to walk a line of "redemption" with him coming back to the MMA after several tumultuous years.
But "War Machine" is who he's always been, and that was on display Saturday in a series of disgusting Tweets regarding rape and his girlfriend Christy Mack. It began with this one:
Just raped @ChristyMack She tried to make me wait until "after errands" As if! =p
Which was followed with a Tweet he's since deleted, which read: "Real men rape. ( Their GF's and wives, not strangers, don't get your panties in a bunch.)"
That brought a hugely negative reaction on Twitter, so he deleted that comment and attacked those who were upset by it.
Apparently you idiots didn't read my tweet prior to the one y'all are crying about, it puts it in the right context. Sensitive ass bitches.
Mack came to his defense to make it clear he wasn't seriously raping her, not that anyone actually believed that was the case, and passed it off as him saying something stupid.
To be clear, @WarMachine170 says stupid things at times; we all know this. He did not rape me, nor would he rape any woman (or man).
In the span of three hours, he goes from defending his comments and lashing out at it being "taken out of context," to a very "corporate" sounding apology which most will deduce came from Bellator higher ups.
So given the apology on its face wasn't taken as sincere, or even War Machine's words, the statement made by Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney in the wake of those comments and said "apology" is all the more disappointing.
Said Rebney*:
"I agree with those who found Jon's earlier statement to be offensive and inappropriate. And, while his public apology surely does not excuse his statement, it does evidence his recognition of the seriousness of the situation and his realization that what he said was offensive, ignorant and hurtful.
Since the day I entered this business, I've believed that my job was to treat our fighters like human beings and not like property. Human beings make mistakes and sometimes say stupid things.
I'm surely prepared to take action in warranted situations as evidenced by recent promotional contracts we have terminated with well-known, popular fighters who have committed assault and/or who have broken the law. But, in this situation, I remain hopeful that Jon will learn from his mistake, redeem himself and become a better man for it and I would like to give him that chance."
Rebney's stance here is predicated on the idea that Koppenhaver has any real recognition that what he said was ridiculous, and unacceptable for someone in his public spot. He was rightfully taken to task because it was an idiotic thing to say, and that apology didn't in any way, shape, or form seem to be something he himself would write.
It reads like something he was told to say, like so many prepared athlete "apologies" of the past, and is not a recognition that what he said was simply wrong. It's not something he's going to learn from, and Bellator continuously giving him opportunities given the copious amounts of things he does not to earn those spots reflects poorly on them.
Yes, human beings make mistakes. Yes, human beings sometimes say stupid things. But here's the thing: those stupid comments have consequences. Is there any doubt that Koppenhaver would have been fired from any normal job for making comments like that in a social media setting? There are plenty of examples you can find of people in everyday 9-5 jobs who have made idiotic comments and lost their jobs because of it.
Why is this already controversial signing for Bellator allowed more rope? The UFC has been getting blasted by the Culinary Union's activist groups about the things their fighters have said, but they've at least taken action and partially held fighters accountable for what they've said. The most clear example is Miguel Torres, and neither of his comments approaching the "rape joke" subject came anywhere near Koppenhaver's level on those comments.
If Bellator and Viacom want to be seen as on par with the UFC, and if they legitimately have aspirations to take on that top mantle themselves, then the handling of this is simply not good enough. It hurts their image for continuing to employ him with nothing more than a simple statement being made hoping he'll learn his lesson. There's no consequences here for him.
Bellator is a big league promotion now, and wants to be seen as such, so they deserve the same type of scrutiny the UFC receives when something like this happens. This reaction from Rebney and simple acceptance of the situation just isn't good enough. The disdain towards his spot on the roster and the fact that they promote him more heavily than some others is going to be felt through the fanbase, and that's a continued negativity they just don't need.
What's clearer than anything in this situation is that War Machine is exactly as advertised. He's brash, he's an "alpha male" spouting, overly aggressive man child with no filter. They knew that when they brought him on, and are culpable when they are complicit with and enable said behavior. Quite simply, War Machine is who Bellator thought he was, and they let him off the hook.
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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