Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Bloody Elbow asked UFC sponsors what they thought of Colby Covington’s comments associating Tyron Woodley and Black Lives Matter with terrorism.
This weekend Colby Covington defeated Tyron Woodley in the main event of UFC Vegas 11. Both before and after the fight, Covington made statements associating the Black Lives Matter movement with terrorism. Covington also called Woodley a terrorist, for supporting that movement.
In his post-fight press conference Covington told the assembled media the following:
“The Black Lives Matter is a complete sham. It’s a joke. They’re taking these people that are complete terrorists. They’re taking these people that that are criminals. These aren’t people that are hardworking Americans, blue-collar Americans. These are bad people. They’re criminals.
“They shouldn’t be attacking police. If you’re breaking the law and you’re threatening the cops with weapons, you deserve to get what you get. Law enforcement protects us all. If we don’t have law enforcement, it’d be the wild wild west.”
“[Woodley]’s a communist. He’s a Marxist. He stands for criminals. He hates America, and that’s why he got broke tonight.”
Black Lives Matter, as a movement, was formed in 2013 in response to the 2012 killing of Black teenager Trayvon Martin, who was shot by George Zimmerman in Sanford, FL. Zimmerman claimed self-defense in the case and was found not guilty of second-degree murder.
Since then the phrase Black Lives Matter has been a rallying cry for people wishing to protest police violence and systemic racism in the United States and beyond. In 2013 the Black Lives Matter Network was formed with a goal of connecting various groups advocating for anti-racist causes.
This year the expression Black Lives Matter has been used frequently during mass protests across the US and other countries which began in response to a number of high-profile killings of Black people—mostly by white police officers. Those notable cases include the killing of George Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck, and the killing of Breonna Taylor, who was shot to death after three police officers opened fire into her apartment in Louisville, KY.
In response to the protests around the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, as well as Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks, Daniel Prude, and Dijon Kizzee (all of whom were killed in 2020), large American corporations began releasing statements in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Some of those corporations sponsor the UFC and sponsored UFC Vegas 11.
Bloody Elbow has reached out to all of the sponsors whose logos appeared either on athletes or on the Octagon on Saturday night.
Those sponsors include:
- Reebok
- Monster Energy
- DoorDash
- Modelo
- Nemiroff Vodka
- Howler Head
- Manscaped
- Jimmy John’s
- Toyo Tires
- DraftKings
Each of the sponsors was provided with quotes from Covington and was asked if they agree or disagree with Covington’s assessment of the Black Lives Matter movement. The sponsors were also asked how they felt about the UFC showing no concerns over Covington’s comments (as demonstrated by UFC President Dana White’s reaction).
Reebok, the outgoing official apparel sponsor of the UFC, provided us with the following statement:
“Reebok is the uniform provider for the UFC, however we do not sponsor Colby Covington. We do not agree with the sentiments he expressed, and stand firm in our belief that Black lives matter. We stand with athletes and communities who are fighting for change.”
In May Reebok released a statement addressed “To the black community” which read, “Without the black community, Reebok would not exist. America would not exist. We are not asking you to buy our shoes. We are asking you to walk in someone else’s”
Monster Energy, who in addition to sponsoring the UFC also sponsors Woodley, has also spoken out in support of Black Lives Matter. On June 18th the company tweeted, from their official account, a message that included: “The issue of race and the experience of too many people of color cannot be ignored and the events of these past few weeks are yet another reminder that tremendous change is still needed to address the persistent unequal treatment of the Black community … While these are not easy conversations to have, never have they been more important than now. #BLACKLIVESMATTER”
Monster Energy’s statement to us, regarding Covington’s comments, is as follows:
“Monster Energy will not respond on the comments of a Non-Sponsored Athlete. We stand by the statements on our website regarding Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion.”
DoorDash has also demonstrated support for social justice initiatives. The company’s co-founder Tony Xu penned his support for the Black Lives Matter movement and outlined what his company would do to support anti-racist causes in a medium post titled ‘Standing Together for Justice’ that was published on June 3rd.
DoorDash’s statement to us reads:
“DoorDash stands with our employees and community members to fight injustice, inequality and discrimination, and we remain committed to using our voice and platform to empower local economies to support equality.”
At this time of writing, no other sponsor has responded to our request for comment. This post will be updated should that change.
Among the companies who have not responded, both Modelo and Manscaped have previously expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
In June, Modelo’s parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev made ‘multiple announcements of support and charitable giving, including one by Michelob Ultra to donate $350,000 to non-profit organizations that are making an impact in the Black community” (per reptrak.com).
Also in June, Manscaped posted the message ‘Black Lives Matter’ as part of the #blackouttuesday social media event.