UFC lightweight contender Josh Thomson came under fire yesterday after he made comments comparing gay marriage to pedophilia, incest and polygamy, via Vigilante MMA.
Today, “The Punk” has deleted all Facebook and Twitter posts on the comment and issued a press release apologizing, via Bloody Elbow, as well as stating that members of the media took his words out of context.
“Yesterday top UFC lightweight contender Josh Thomson used social media to poll fans with what turned out to be a controversial and thought provoking topic.
The subject of gay rights, including gay marriage, is sensitive for many people and Mr. Thomson fully supports equality for all human beings.
The statements made by Mr. Thomson were intended to provoke thought on some of the bigger issues that come up when people start to fight not only for equality but for more off-the-wall rights often frowned upon by society.
‘I am not against gay rights or gay marriage in anyway,’ stated Thomson. ‘My comments were completely taken out of context by some members of the media and I have since removed them out of respect for anyone who may have been offended. It was not my intention to offend or hurt anyone.’
With organizations fighting for legalized polygamy and the North American Man/Boy Love Association (http://NAMBLA.ORG) fighting for rights of their own, the line between equality and controversy becomes very thin. Mr. Thomson was merely giving extreme examples of very real movements in our country but he in no way meant to isolate the gay community in a negative manner.”
For those who missed it, here’s one of the messages Thomson posted on social media Wednesday:
“I’m only asking a question. My next question is, should siblings be allowed to marry siblings? My point is, where do you draw the line? I personally don’t care who you marry but I also am smart enough to know that it opens a gateway to men/women trying to marry young kids, siblings marrying each other and people having multiple husbands an wives. You have to think all of these things are okay otherwise your stopping them from being happy as well which is hypocrisy. Equality doesn’t stop with gay marriage, it just starts with it.”
After notching a 10-3 record in Strikeforce, where he captured the lightweight title in June 2008, Thomson made his UFC return against recent title challenger Nate Diaz at UFC on FOX 7 in April.
Despite being a massive underdog, Thomson frustrated Diaz by keeping him at range before blasting him with a headkick in the second round and finishing him off with punches on the ground.
The American Kickboxing Academy mainstay currently has the No. 5 spot in the UFC’s official lightweight rankings after being the first man to score a (technical) knockout over Diaz.
Coincidentally, the UFC issued a 90-day suspension and $20,000 fine to Diaz last month for tweeting a homophobic slur, via MMA Fighting, though Thomson never used any derogatory words in his dialogue with fans.
Therefore, it seems unlikely that he will suffer any sanctions from his employer.
Was Thomson’s apology sincere or is he only backtracking on his recent comments about gay marriage since he received a ton of backlash from MMA media and fans?
John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com and contributes MMA videos to The Young Turks Sports Show.
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