It is well known that UFC Middleweight Tim Kennedy served in the United States Military before his MMA career took off, but a recent Facebook post made by Kennedy put a darker side of military service on display.
Kennedy admitted in his Facebook post that he has shot women and children in his service history, and stated that the best way for people who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, to get over it is to “stop being a pu**y.”
“My adult life is filled with the things horror movies are made of,” he said on Facebook. “I could have nightmares every night or be a medicated PTSD victim if I didn’t choose every day to make a difference for myself and more importantly for the men that died to my left and right… I’ll tell you how to get better. You stop being a pu**y.”
Kennedy hasn’t fought since a UFC 178 TKO loss to Yoel Romero, and currently does not have another fight scheduled.
Dodd’s Analysis: It must be stated that Kennedy has lived through atrocities that many of us cannot even imagine, and therefore is allowed to have any opinion on his own mental health situation he would like. However, this type of mental health victim shaming is extremely dangerous, as it encourages people who have problems not to seek the help they need to be healthy. Suicide surpassed war as the leading cause of death in the U.S. Military in 2011, and PTSD is a serious problem that should not be as easily dismissed as Kennedy is attempting to do in this Facebook post.
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