Transgender women’s MMA fighter Fallon Fox has claimed she’s lived in perpetual angst as a result of the criticism UFC color commentator Joe Rogan hurled her way on a March 2013 episode of his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience (via Fight Opinion).
Nearly 20 months removed from Rogan‘s statements regarding the once-beaten featherweight, Fox broke her silence on the matter by penning a guest editorial for Bloody Elbow.
An emotional Fox began her over-1,500 word rebuttal to Rogan by writing:
It’s been almost a year since Joe Rogan first went on his rant where he said some of the most awful things about yours truly. People have asked me why I never responded back then to what he said. The answer? The world was wrongfully caving in on me, many of his fans attacked my social media repeating much of the hurtful rhetoric and misinformation that Joe said on the air. I was simply not feeling up to responding at that time. I also thought it might be possible that he would correct himself on a long enough timeline.
Fox then admitted that the colossal pressure of becoming the first openly transgender MMA fighter in the sport’s history, coupled with Rogan‘s comments, nearly drove her to suicide.
“I barely squeaked by when it all went down. Honestly, sincerely, I contemplated (and) even made plans to kill myself. I think that no matter how mentally tough you are, nothing can fully prepare one for coming out as trans on such a public stage regardless of preparation. That’s human.”
Later in her soliloquy, Fox attempted in long-winded fashion to correct what she perceived as inaccurate information regarding transgender athletes from Rogan. She then said Rogan essentially committed harassment by bringing the subject up and offering his opinions on it on several occasions on his podcast.
Fox wrapped up her message to Rogan by writing: “All of this ‘being corrected’ can just be avoided by him apologizing and correcting the misinformation. That would really make my day.”
The 38-year-old Fox, who was born Boyd Burton and grew up in Toledo, Ohio, was the middle of three children in a mixed-race household.
Fox drove an 18-wheeler for a period of two years before making the trek to Bangkok, Thailand, where she had gender reassignment surgery in 2006.
The Midwest Training Center product won her pro MMA debut in May 2012 by scoring a first-round TKO over Elisha Helsper at KOTC Wild Card.
Fox suffered her first loss in October 2013 when she fell to Ashlee Evans-Smith at Championship Fighting Alliance 12.
Fox has won each of her last two fights, with her latest win coming via first-round TKO over Tamikka Brents at CCCW: The Undertaking in September.
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