By Felix Rodriguez, Staff Writer
MAY 17, 2013 – Mixed Martial Arts is in its final phase of transitioning from niche sport to a fully mainstream and globally enjoyed combat sport. Zuffa has been heading the charge into this new stage, and has made some compromises to shed the label of “Human Cockfighting” and the connection between mixed martial artists with cage fighting thugs.
One of those compromises was the UFC fighter conduct policy, which has led to what some consider, controversial disciplinary actions for fighters expressing their views outside of the octagon. Matt Mitrione was the first UFC fighter disciplined, under the new policy, for not letting his fists do the talking. Mitrione’s choice of words, when discussing Fallon Fox and her right to fight against females as a transgendered person, led to a fine and suspension that was recently lifted. Nate Diaz is also in hot water due to his choice of words in a recent tweet about Pat Healy’s loss of bonus money.
This is the second instance in which a fighter has been punished for violating Zuffa’s newly installed code of conduct policy. In both cases fighters were disciplined for using terms considered to be derogatory and offensive towards the LGBTQ community.
The UFC code of conduct states:
“Fighters shall conduct themselves in accordance with commonly accepted standards of decency, social convention, and morals, and fighters will not commit any act or become involved in any situation or occurrence or make any statement which will reflect negatively upon or bring disrepute, contempt, scandal, ridicule or disdain to the fighter or the UFC.”
This statement is in-step with the views of major American sports leagues regarding how to deal with athletes generating bad publicity for their teams, cities and sport. If the UFC wants to continue attracting brands like Reebok, Budweiser and Nike then playing PC ball is a necessary and logical progression. And if MMA fighters want to make NFL and NBA money they better step in line too.
That means Mitrione can’t describe transgendered people as “sociopaths” and that means Miguel Torres can’t make jokes about windowless vans. And that means that fighters who are trying to make it to the bigger promotions also need to watch what they say because people may not be paying attention to you now, but the words you choose to use will linger on in the Internet when you’re famous.
“We are very disappointed by Nate Diaz’s comments, which are in no way reflective of our organization. Nate is currently suspended pending internal investigation and we will provide further comment once the matter has been decided.”
Nate Diaz’s expected punishment is being met with some controversy because Dana White made similar word choices in the past. When White became unhappy with a report he referred to the writer as a “p*ssy and a f*ggot” in a now infamous 2009 vlog. The profanity laced video resulted in considerable backlash against White, and ultimately, the UFC brand as well because he is their public face. Since then, the UFC has made an effort to appear as a more politically correct organization.
Dana White has gone on record, when describing the 2009 vlog, as the sole regret he had throughout his tenure as president of the UFC during an interview with Ariel Helwani, and has made it a point to distance himself and his brand from any association with homophobia. For an organization and sport that is trying to become mainstream in the middle of a downturn economy it would make sense that they try not to alienate demographic groups which represent potential sources of revenue. And when discussing expanded sources of revenue Biggie Smalls said it best: Mo’ Money Mo’ Problems.
As the sport becomes bigger the magnifying glass used to scrutinize every MMA fighter’s words and actions is also increasing ten-fold. When this happens fighters and MMA promoters still retain their freedom of speech, but freedom of consequences for their choice of words becomes compromised. Dana White and Nate Diaz are public figures, their words might not carry more weight than that of the average Joe but they are certainly heard on bigger platforms. Fighters are free to say whatever they want in whatever outlet they choose. The only thing is that they have to remember that, once they hit the big time, a lot more people are listening…which means there are a lot more people out there to potentially piss off. Mo Money Mo Problems for real.
On paper it seems extremely hypocritical that White would punish Diaz for using a derogatory term that he has used on public record in the past. That said; Diaz’s statement was made after the new conduct policy was installed so he exercised his right to free speech knowing that his words might carry consequences. And they did.
Whether Dana White’s response to the Nate Diaz tweet was hypocritical or an honest attempt at “better late than never” isn’t the important issue here. What fighters should gather from this is that, unless you are of vital importance to the company, making the UFC look foolish won’t be tolerated. As the UFC becomes more mainstream their core demographic of 18-34 year old males has also grown to include more women, children, seniors and people from all walks of life, socio-economic status and YES even sexual preference. Gay dudes may not like MMA, but they may like wearing Reeboks and driving Fords. If the UFC seems to condone gay bashing behavior, these brands may feel hesitant to establish marketing partnerships with the promotion. From a business stand-point this potential loss of revenue is inexcusable.
MMA may be a sport, but it is also a business. In America being bigoted is bad for business, and the UFC has never hidden the fact that they are here to make money. And in this regard Zuffa is no different than any other business. They will not and should not allow their employees to interfere and compromise their ability to profit.
The case of Nate Diaz is a strange one. He is being penalized for being who he is. All he did was sprinkle some 209 dust on his opinion. The thing is someone didn’t hear him call Caraway a “fag” in a private conversation. He took to a social media platform that is heavily promoted by the UFC to use a word that is highly offensive to some people. The twitter account may be his, but any comments he makes on that platform are not just his own, they are also perceived as those of a UFC employee. Like in any business, when you speak on behalf of a company your words may carry consequences. And in the case of Nate Diaz, they did.