Any details the public will get on Dana White’s recent nightclub incident in Cabo, in which the UFC President was caught on video slapping his wife in retaliation for being struck during a heated argument, will have to come from White himself.
That’s because Mexico’s privacy laws prohibit law enforcement from discussing the “very private” matter and police investigators refused to confirm or deny if a complaint had been filed, according to a new report from Sara Coello at ESPN.
“The onus to bring evidence is always on the victim,” Céline González, a political science professor who studies domestic violence at Mexico’s Center for Research and Teaching in Economics, told the promotion’s broadcast partner. “It’s her job to report, and in Mexico that process isn’t easy.”
White quickly apologized for his behavior and made a recent appearance at the UFC Vegas 67 media day at APEX (watch the video here). Executives at both ESPN and Endeavor — parent company of UFC — have refused to comment on the matter.
“Do I need to reflect? No, I don’t need to reflect,” White said. “The next morning when I woke up (I reflected). I’ve been against this. I’ve owned this. I’m telling you that I’m wrong. But listen, we’ve had plenty of discussions internally, with Ari (Emanuel), ESPN – nobody is happy. Nobody’s happy about this. Neither am I, but it happened, and I have to deal with it.”
White is not expected to face any disciplinary action.
“Domestic violence is egregious, it’s unacceptable, it shouldn’t happen, and he shouldn’t be able to exact his own punishment,” ESPN host Molly Qerim said. “So many people make poor decisions or get involved with the law, and they don’t get to say, ‘Hey, my shame’s enough.’ No, you face punishment in addition to that, and that should happen here, and he has a boss, and that is Endeavor, and I expect them to hand something down.”
Calls for White’s removal continue to fall on deaf ears.