Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin has apologized for a tweet in which he wrote “Rape is the new missionary,” explaining that he meant to shed a light on the prevalence of sexual assault as “commonplace.”
On Thursday, Griffin visited the Las Vegas Rape Crisis Center, meeting with its executive director, touring its facilities and making a donation to the non-profit group.
“I feel bad,” he told KTNV News. “I want to apologize. I feel like a should be punished a little bit.”
Griffin said his initial tweet was a reaction to the many high-profile rape cases that have been highlighted on the news recently, including the ongoing scandal surrounding Penn State University and its football program, which has so far led to the arrests of three, including a longtime assistant coach.
Not surprisingly though, Griffin’s intended meaning did not come across in his tweet, which had no context and came off as an insensitive non sequitur. Griffin later took down the offending tweet and said he would put himself on “Twitter restriction” until next week.
“Maybe other professional athletes or just guys in locker rooms can kind of be more sensitive towards the topic of rape.” he said. “Once you take the comments in the light of day, you feel disgusted by it. At the time, you don’t think.”
Though Griffin is known for a biting, sarcastic sense of humor, he has often been considered among the UFC’s top ambassadors, and in 2010, donated the entire proceeds from his New York Times bestselling book “Be Ready When the S— Goes Down: A Survival Guide to the Apocalypse” to various charitable causes.