“No, no. Dig up, stupid!”
As is so very often the case, The Simpsons shows us the way. In the episode that produced the quote above, a group of characters trap themselves in a hole after digging too deeply for buried treasure. One of the characters in said hole offered that advice on how to escape.
Coincidentally, I think that was the same person who was perched on Jones’ shoulder as he blasted himself in the foot time and time again over the past three weeks, in front of all of us innocent bystanders. I’d be surprised if Jones had any feet left.
At this point, the Jon Jones story isn’t really about whether or to what extent he torpedoed UFC 151. The story is Jon Jones digging himself progressively deeper into a pit of public relations purgatory. As a bystander, I could only watch in horror as Jones morphed before my eyes into MMA‘s Dorian Gray, all his youthful charm and good will pouring out of his piehole.
Just when you think the wound is finally closing, Jones goes and rips it wide open again, Tito-Ortiz-against-Jerry-Bohlander style. Everyone calms down, cooler heads prevail, and then the hothead has to shout just one more thing over his shoulder and stir up the hive all over again. That’s been Jones since UFC 151. The steady drumbeat of myopic Jon Jones’ public comments sound two distinctive notes: “poor me” and “let them eat cake.”
Neither one is ingratiating. I suppose Jon Jones gets paid either way, but is this really the career path he wants to follow? The villain? If it is, fine, but he should at least put some thought into it first.
Right now, he’s not. He’s just out there floundering. By my count, Jones has imprinted himself on no fewer than six separate MMA news cycles in the wake of 151. He drew parallels between his own plight and the crucifixion of Jesus. He asked the UFC to ask Chael Sonnen to stop making fun of him. He called Sonnen a racist.
He called injured opponent Dan Henderson an “old man” and blamed him for the cancellation. He told Hendo to “shut up,” crowing that the former champ “dodged a bullet” when he got injured and was unable to step into the cage with Jones.
Then, just three days ago, he kvetched that UFC President Dana White was “blaming everyone but himself” for the debacle. There is no word on how many shards Jon Jones’ glass house burst into upon the utterance of that statement.
Given that Jones’ publicist, John Fuller, apparently quit the Jones camp in frustration, Jones appears to be a soldier without a cavalry. That’s part of why Jones keeps digging himself deeper and deeper.
I understand that instinct, of wanting to defend yourself. And Jones actually has some good points to make. But there’s no such thing as digging up. Sometimes, you have to turn off the tweets. Hunker down, sit tight and wait for the storm to blow over, or else risk making things worse. Much worse.
Put the shovel down, Jon. This is your intervention. Take some time off.
Find a tropical island where they don’t allow plebeians on the beach. Go live in a log cabin for a while if you have to. Maybe the UFC needs a heel, but are you really that guy? Is that really what we want?
Maybe we all need some time to figure it out. Some time apart. Thanks in advance, Jon, for your cooperation. See you on the 22nd.
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