Lloyd Irvin is a well known name in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu world and has become a prominent coach among several top MMA competitors. Recently his name and gym has become tarnished by reports of scandal and the exodus of some of Irvin’s top students.
Bloody Elbow has been following the story and has information from Lloyd’s Facebook account that take this saga on yet another twist.
“Effective Immediately: Team Lloyd Irvin Affiliate Program is Terminated!
I want to thank EVERY Team Lloyd Irvin affiliate for their loyalty and friendship throughout the years and especially during the last 2 months…
However there is clearly a lynch mob made up of a handful of people who will settle for NOTHING other than my head-on-a-stick or me hanging from a tree.”
This comes only days after reports of abuse surfaced from former students of Irvin. The “Medical Chasers” were members of one of Irvin’s top BJJ teams yet many of the team members are stepping away from the team.
Jordan Schultz, a two-time IBJJFchampion spoke out to Brent Brookhouse about an incident that made him leave Irvin’s team.
“She said that when she first joined the team she was given a set of rules. She was told exactly how she should act. Everyone on the team follows the principle of the Android. An Android does what they are commanded with no question and no hesitation. Whatever the Programmer says the Android does. According to the Martial Arts instructor this correlates to Martial Arts if the coach gives a command and the athlete hesitates or questions for a moment it can cost them the match. That is the importance of being an Android.
…
She told me while crying that her instructor would both ask and instruct her to do sexually inappropriate things with him. Re-affirming his instructions with things like “I thought you said you wanted to be a world champion, and you said you would do anything I tell you to do without hesitation”. He would make her repeat to him over and over that she loved him like a script.
If she ever hesitated or questioned he would call her a liar and say that she didn’t really want to become a world champion and she wasn’t serious about her goals” (Bloody Elbow).
Schultz went on to say that this story likely isn’t an isolated incident.
“I think, but cannot confirm, that there are other victims on the team. I would see the instructor sleeping in the same hotel room, in the same bed with other female teammates at tournaments. Multiple teammates have also been called to his room to give him massages alone together, which I always thought was a little inappropriate considering he is their Martial Arts Instructor” (Bloody Elbow).
None of these stories have been linked to Irvin directly as of now but it’s definitely not going to paint the BJJ instructor in a good light. And with an already shady past being brought to light by recent reports, it’s clear that being associated with Team Lloyd Irvin may not be a good PR move.
It is for this reason that The Alliance Training Center and fighters like Dominick Cruz and Brandon Vera have chosen to sever ties with the jiu-jitsu instructor. The report also states that Mike Easton, an UFC fighter who has Team Lloyd Irvin inked on his skin, will be allowed to continue training at The Alliance and with Irvin but it’s unclear if that rule applies to anyone else.
The ramifications form these reports are obviously being felt within the Team Irvin circle but could hold major implications within the BJJ world along with MMA fighters under the Irvin banner should these reports hold true.
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