(Posting this image alone seems inappropriate enough given the “context” of this article, but we’ll get to that in a minute.)
The man formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver but now spoken only of in terrified whispers as “War Machine” just can’t stop making himself look like an absolute dipshit. Or won’t stop.
The twice imprisoned Bellator welterweight has been fired in the past for making his insane thoughts public, to the point that he is currently the face of the “Think Twice, Then Type” campaign on the social networking site. His most recent remark, also on Twitter, may be his worst to date. However, it does not appear that his employer cares in the slightest.
Just raped @ChristyMack She tried to make me wait until “after errands” As if! =p” War Machine tweeted August 10th.
Koppenhaver went on to declare that, “Real men rape. (Their GF’s and wives, not strangers, don’t get your panties in a bunch.)” Yes, Mr. Machine, let us not jump to conclusions when judging your moral turpitude.
As one would expect, Machine’s latest musings were not received without criticism. Thankfully, we can all rest assured knowing that Machine’s thoughts — which he typed himself, mind you — were taken out of context.
“Apparently you idiots didn’t read my tweet prior to the one y’all are crying about, it puts it in the right context. Sensitive ass bitches,” he scribed, likely while wearing an ascot and smoking a corncob pipe. “Context is the word…y’all motherfuckers just love to take what I say out of CONTEXT and then attempt to demonize me with it. #DIESLOW.”
(Posting this image alone seems inappropriate enough given the “context” of this article, but we’ll get to that in a minute.)
The man formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver but now spoken only of in terrified whispers as “War Machine” just can’t stop making himself look like an absolute dipshit. Or won’t stop.
The twice imprisoned Bellator welterweight has been fired in the past for making his insane thoughts public, to the point that he is currently the face of the “Think Twice, Then Type” campaign on the social networking site. His most recent remark, also on Twitter, may be his worst to date. However, it does not appear that his employer cares in the slightest.
Just raped @ChristyMack She tried to make me wait until “after errands” As if! =p” War Machine tweeted August 10th.
Koppenhaver went on to declare that, “Real men rape. (Their GF’s and wives, not strangers, don’t get your panties in a bunch.)” Yes, Mr. Machine, let us not jump to conclusions when judging your moral turpitude.
As one would expect, Machine’s latest musings were not received without criticism. Thankfully, we can all rest assured knowing that Machine’s thoughts — which he typed himself, mind you — were taken out of context.
“Apparently you idiots didn’t read my tweet prior to the one y’all are crying about, it puts it in the right context. Sensitive ass bitches,” he scribed, likely while wearing an ascot and smoking a corncob pipe. “Context is the word…y’all motherfuckers just love to take what I say out of CONTEXT and then attempt to demonize me with it. #DIESLOW.”
…
Without coming off as the PC police, I think we can all agree that War Machine’s rant crossed a line. What intrigues us most, however, is the correlation between Twitter, MMA and rape jokes. I mean, there’s obviously some hidden connection there, but why exactly? Is there something about only having 150 characters to express oneself that makes MMA fighters want to assert themselves sexually by force? Details at 11.
Shortly after, however, War Machine became enlightened and issued a heartfelt tweetology, “I tweeted something earlier that was stupid, insensitive and wrong. Rape is never something to joke about ever. I sincerely apologize.”
Listen, I like Jon. Or at least the guy named Jon I briefly interviewed years ago shortly after his season of The Ultimate Fighter. *Jon* seemed earnest and courageously spoke openly about his psychological and emotional issues, as well as the help he was seeking for them.War Machine, on the other hand, needs to get a hold of himself and perhaps cancel his Twitter account. He’s a talented and skilled fighter but may be close to once again having his livelihood threatened by stuff he says or does outside of the ring.
Or not. Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney issued a long-winded statement that amounted to a whole lot of nothing regarding his organization’s stance on its fighters being insensitive about rape in response. “I agree with those who found Jon’s earlier statement to be offensive and inappropriate,” the statement began.
And, while his public apology surely does not excuse his statement, it does evidence his recognition of the seriousness of the situation and his realization that what he said was offensive, ignorant and hurtful. Since the day I entered this business, I’ve believed that my job was to treat our fighters like human beings and not like property. Human beings make mistakes and sometimes say stupid things. I’m surely prepared to take action in warranted situations as evidenced by recent promotional contracts we have terminated with well-known, popular fighters who have committed assault and/or who have broken the law. But, in this situation, I remain hopeful that Jon will learn from his mistake, redeem himself and become a better man for it and I would like to give him that chance.
I’m not calling for Machine’s release but goodness, Bjorn, would it be too much trouble to do or say anything of consequence that might make it seem like Bellator does not let its fighters, especially those with violent criminal pasts, say this type of thing publicly? YOU’RE MAKING US ALL LOOK LIKE ASSHOLES.
The cutting of Miguel Torres was disciplinary in nature although it was not said what the cause was, only that he was cut. His record wasn’t bad, with a knockout loss to Michael McDonald who is going to be a top star (provided his hands don’t keep betraying him as he’s already broken them a couple of times) and a close loss to Demetrious Johnson, both top guys. He made the r*** joke on twitter and was fired, then brought back, and apparently he made some sort of a similar mistake.
The tweet at the top of this post was dug up by MMAMania, who point out that it was sent a couple weeks after the McDonald loss. And while it still hasn’t been confirmed exactly what led to Torres’s latest firing, it’s astounding that he would still be playing with fire like this. For those people who viewed Torres as a victim of over-sensitivity during his first UFC firing, you have to admit that he would have to be the dumbest motherfucker alive to continue making rape jokes after he already lost his job once.
If someone could be literally addicted to making rape jokes — and if such a person exists, it would be Miguel Torres — this would represent a pretty obvious rock bottom, and a sign that he needs help. What the hell, man. Seriously.
The cutting of Miguel Torres was disciplinary in nature although it was not said what the cause was, only that he was cut. His record wasn’t bad, with a knockout loss to Michael McDonald who is going to be a top star (provided his hands don’t keep betraying him as he’s already broken them a couple of times) and a close loss to Demetrious Johnson, both top guys. He made the r*** joke on twitter and was fired, then brought back, and apparently he made some sort of a similar mistake.
The tweet at the top of this post was dug up by MMAMania, who point out that it was sent a couple weeks after the McDonald loss. And while it still hasn’t been confirmed exactly what led to Torres’s latest firing, it’s astounding that he would still be playing with fire like this. For those people who viewed Torres as a victim of over-sensitivity during his first UFC firing, you have to admit that he would have to be the dumbest motherfucker alive to continue making rape jokes after he already lost his job once.
If someone could be literally addicted to making rape jokes — and if such a person exists, it would be Miguel Torres — this would represent a pretty obvious rock bottom, and a sign that he needs help. What the hell, man. Seriously.
We love Strikeforce middleweight Tim Kennedy. He fights hard, he’s hilarious and he’s a veteran Special Forces badass. That’s why it is unfortunate that Kennedy will likely be the next dude to get fired over tweets if he continues to tweet as he’s recently tweeted. (There’s a special place in hell for writers that use both the noun and verb forms of the fake word “tweet” in a single sentence, I’m sure.)
Here at CagePotato, we’re the last group of people to be easily offended, but we’re just trying to send an advance warning to Señor Kennedy. Recent twitter posts of his have included many elements of any get-your-ass-fired social media cocktail: References to rape, singling out people of certain religions for bodily harm, and shotguns.
We love Strikeforce middleweight Tim Kennedy. He fights hard, he’s hilarious and he’s a veteran Special Forces badass. That’s why it is unfortunate that Kennedy will likely be the next dude to get fired over tweets if he continues to tweet as he’s recently tweeted. (There’s a special place in hell for writers that use both the noun and verb forms of the fake word “tweet” in a single sentence, I’m sure.)
Here at CagePotato, we’re the last group of people to be easily offended, but we’re just trying to send an advance warning to Señor Kennedy. Recent twitter posts of his have included many elements of any get-your-ass-fired social media cocktail: References to rape, singling out people of certain religions for bodily harm, and shotguns.
“Is it wrong that I honk and wave at Mormons as they ride by on their bikes trying to get them to crash?”
And on April 22nd, when Kennedy follower @jere562 asked the fighter, ”if #zombies were roaming the streets and one was a celebrity, who would it be and what weapon would you use to kill them?”, Kennedy replied:
@jere562 all [of] the cast members of the Jersey shore, and the Kardashian family. Shotgun”
First of all, we’d argue that If Kennedy is annoyed by the nice young ladies of Keeping up With the Kardashians, he has no one to blame but himself. You either watch that shit on mute or stick to pictures and videos of Kim Kardashian on the web, like us.
Secondly, yes, Kennedy’s tweets were tongue-in-cheek and funny. But that didn’t save Miguel Torres, who was fired after quoting a comedy television show on twitter. If UFC President Dana White does end up warning or punishing Kennedy, he might at least realize that if one tells a roster of hundreds of fighters to get active on twitter, it would be helpful to provide them with some very specific guidelines.
Kennedy is walking the line, here, especially in light of Anheuser-Busch’s recent warning on fighter behavior. Here’s hoping he doesn’t get in trouble, but if Kennedy does get canned, I think we can all agree that this is how he’d want to be remembered:
(“Fine. I’m going to *respectfully* get on top of my wife, okay?”)
If there’s one thing the UFC has taught us lately, it’s that rape jokes aren’t funny, especially when delivered by people with bad taste and zero comedic ability. So it was only a matter of time before the promotion’s major sponsors started getting uncomfortable. In light of new criticism from watchdog group Alcohol Justice, Anheuser-Busch (Bud Light’s parent company) released a statement warning the UFC to crack down on their employees’ insensitivity. From Advertising Age (via MMAMania):
“We’ve communicated to the UFC our displeasure with certain remarks made by some of its fighters, and they have promised to address this. If the incidents continue, we will act,” the brewer said in a statement. A-B, which did not elaborate on potential actions, also stated that it “embraces diversity and does not condone insensitive and derogatory comments rooted in ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, etc.”
(“Fine. I’m going to *respectfully* get on top of my wife, okay?”)
If there’s one thing the UFC has taught us lately, it’s that rape jokes aren’t funny, especially when delivered by people with bad taste and zero comedic ability. So it was only a matter of time before the promotion’s major sponsors started getting uncomfortable. In light of new criticism from watchdog group Alcohol Justice, Anheuser-Busch (Bud Light’s parent company) released a statement warning the UFC to crack down on their employees’ insensitivity. From Advertising Age (via MMAMania):
“We’ve communicated to the UFC our displeasure with certain remarks made by some of its fighters, and they have promised to address this. If the incidents continue, we will act,” the brewer said in a statement. A-B, which did not elaborate on potential actions, also stated that it “embraces diversity and does not condone insensitive and derogatory comments rooted in ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, etc.”
Anheuser-Busch’s comments were released prior to the company’s shareholders meeting in Brussels, Belgium yesterday. Earlier this month, Alcohol Justice sent an open letter to A-B shareholders, blasting the UFC and Bud Light for “delivering harmful content to millions of underage youth,” citing the “sexist, homophobic, violent and derogatory remarks” made by some of their fighters and Dana White himself. They even criticized that Bud Light Lime ad with Arianny Celeste. (Damn killjoys. What’s wrong with being sexy?)
The UFC, which renewed a multi-year sponsorship deal with Bud Light last April, responded with the following statement to Ad Age: “With over 425 athletes on our roster, there have unfortunately been instances where a couple athletes have made insensitive or inappropriate comments. We don’t condone this behavior, and in no way is it reflective of the company or its values.”
It appears that, distraught over his inability to get fired from the UFC, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has moved on to phase two of Operation: Batshit Condor. If you recall, phase one began with a DVD copy of The Secret and a six pack of Red Bull and ended with a high speed chase across Southern California. If thi video is any indication, phase two will undoubtedly end in the death of millions.
Perhaps realizing that his rap album won’t be climbing up the charts anytime soon, Jackson decided to return to his acting…I guess you’d call them, roots? The video that awaits you after the jump, which comes courtesy of FilmOn.com, is entitled “How To Pick Up a Gurl – Fast” with Rampage Jackson.
Prepare yourselves for this one, ladies and gentlemen.
It appears that, distraught over his inability to get fired from the UFC, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has moved on to phase two of Operation: Batshit Condor. If you recall, phase one began with a DVD copy of The Secret and a six pack of Red Bull and ended with a high speed chase across Southern California. If this video is any indication, phase two will undoubtedly end in the death of millions.
Perhaps realizing that his rap album won’t be climbing up the charts anytime soon, Jackson decided to return to his acting…I guess you’d call them, roots? The video that awaits you below, which comes courtesy of FilmOn.com, is entitled “How To Pick Up a Gurl – Fast” with Rampage Jackson.
Prepare yourselves for this one, ladies and gentlemen.
As you can see, what starts off as a series of harmless rape jokes quickly devolves into something out of A Serbian Film before abruptly ending, leaving its audience at an utter loss for words and with a hemorrhage-induced bloody nose. Considering the UFC’s policy on the whole “rape” issue, this is either a brilliant or incredibly stupid move by Quinton Jackson. No, wait. It’s incredibly stupid.
Granted, it would be kind of shocking if Page actually was reprimanded for this, but…what in God’s name did we just witness?
A national anti-violence group, the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence sent a four-page letter today to New York State Assemblymen and women today, urging them to oppose the legalization in their state based on a weak argument that unfortunate comments made by fighters and UFC president Dana White in the past promote violence against “women, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people” in particular. The group also claims that the UFC basically encourages it’s fighters to talk like sailors.
Now, I’m as against some of the bad PR moves certain fighters have made with their loose lips and lapses of judgment the past few years, but I have yet to hear anyone who has ever cashed a UFC paycheck threaten to beat a homosexual, a woman or someone who has undergone a sex change. Using a gay slur against a straight person, although reprehensible, is not intended to be offensive to the group it ultimately defends, the same as a fighter calling another fighter “a bitch” is not done to offend female dogs. The difference is the SPCA has better things to do than write letters all day.
If you notice, the crux of the NCDAV’s argument hinges on info they were given by a group called UnfitforChildren.org, which is a front for the Culinary Union — the labor group embroiled in a legal battle with the Fertitta-Owned Station Casinos. The head of the Union is even CC’ed on the letter.
If I were the UFC, I’d be making some rebuttal-ads similar to the political ones we see around election time exposing the union’s dirty tactics. Until then I’m sure we’ll have plenty of do-good groups nobody has ever heard of like the NCDSV popping up with their soap boxes to tell people what they shouldn’t be allowed to watch or do. Between sips of jasmine tea and blogging about freecycling, these mother hens do all they can to make sure that they browbeat everyone who will listen into condemning anything that they find even remotely offensive, lest they be labeled unsympathetic to women or proponents of violence against them.
The truth is, they probably are sick of their husbands watching UFC on Saturday nights and want someone to take them to the new Rachel McAdams movie.
Anyway, if you have the stomach for it, you can read the entire useless letter after the jump.
A national anti-violence group, the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence sent a four-page letter today to New York State Assemblymen and women today, urging them to oppose the legalization in their state based on a weak argument that unfortunate comments made by fighters and UFC president Dana White in the past promote violence against “women, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people” in particular. The group also claims that the UFC basically encourages it’s fighters to talk like sailors.
Now, I’m as against some of the bad PR moves certain fighters have made with their loose lips and lapses of judgment the past few years, but I have yet to hear anyone who has ever cashed a UFC paycheck threaten to beat a homosexual, a woman or someone who has undergone a sex change. Using a gay slur against a straight person, although reprehensible, is not intended to be offensive to the group it ultimately defends, the same as a fighter calling another fighter “a bitch” is not done to offend female dogs. The difference is the SPCA has better things to do than write letters all day.
If you notice, the crux of the NCDAV’s argument hinges on info they were given by a group called UnfitforChildren.org, which is a front for the Culinary Union — the labor group embroiled in a legal battle with the Fertitta-Owned Station Casinos. The head of the Union is even CC’ed on the letter.
If I were the UFC, I’d be making some rebuttal-ads similar to the political ones we see around election time exposing the union’s dirty tactics. Until then I’m sure we’ll have plenty of do-good groups nobody has ever heard of like the NCDSV popping up with their soap boxes to tell people what they shouldn’t be allowed to watch or do. Between sips of jasmine tea and blogging about freecycling, these mother hens do all they can to make sure that they browbeat everyone who will listen into condemning anything that they find even remotely offensive, lest they be labeled unsympathetic to women or proponents of violence against them.
The truth is, they probably are sick of their husbands watching UFC on Saturday nights and want someone to take them to the new Rachel McAdams movie.
Anyway, if you have the stomach for it, you can read the entire useless letter below:
Dear State Assembly Member: We are writing you to raise concerns about renewed efforts by Zuffa LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), to legalize cage fighting in the State of New York.
You are no doubt aware that the State of New York banned cage fighting in 1997. We urge you to continue to uphold the ban on cage fighting, given that the UFC, the largest promoter of cage fighting events in the U.S., has failed to demonstrate that it is willing to ensure its fighters behave in a socially responsible way, even as the company expressly markets its fights and fighters to children.
We believe that the UFC contributes to a culture of violence against women, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Children, in particular, should not be exposed to the homophobic, misogynistic and violent language that has been permitted by the UFC.
Please see the following website, UFC = Unfit For Children (www.UnfitForChildren.org), for more information. Some examples of anti-gay and anti-women statements by people associated with the UFC include the following:
• In videos, UFC light heavyweight Quinton “Rampage” Jackson repeatedly urged Japanese fans to repeat an anti-gay slur.1 The fans, who do not appear to understand English, repeated the anti-gay slur at Jackson’s urging. In one video, Jackson instructed a Japanese man to say, “Goodbye, I want you to piss on my face.”
• Recently, a UFC fighter taunted his opponent by threatening to act like former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, who has been charged with 52 counts of molesting boys. UFC fighter Rashad Evans said, “Cause I’m gonna put those hands on you worse than that dude did them other kids at Penn State.”
• In November, UFC light heavyweight fighter Forrest Griffin joked about rape on Twitter. “Rape is the new missionary,” Griffin tweeted. After a woman objected to the tweet, Griffin tweeted back, “Keep it to yourself nobody cares,” according to the Huffington Post.4
• In an expletive-filled video rant posted on YouTube.com, UFC president Dana White used an anti-gay slur, saying, “Whoever gave you that quote is a [expletive] and a [expletive] faggot and a [expletive] liar and everything else.”5 He also uttered the “F” word a total of 34 times, the “S” word 4 times, and referred to a female sports journalist as a “[expletive] dumb bitch.”6
• Joe Rogan, who does commentary for televised UFC events, recently used a homophobic slur while referring to a MMA blogger.7 Rogan also to referred to an MMA blogger as a part of the female anatomy. According to sportswriter Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports, Rogan then wrote on a blog, “Never did I imagine that so many people would get their panties in a bunch about the use of the word [expletive] to describe a female blogger.
•In a recent UFC promotional video, Michael Bisping, a UFC middleweight fighter and coach on the reality television show “The Ultimate Fighter,” screamed an anti-gay slur at his opponent.9 In addition, Bisping was quoted by ESPN saying of an opponent, “He broke rank for a moment, but other than that he was my bitch and he’ll be my bitch on Saturday night.”10
• In a radio interview last year, UFC heavyweight Frank Mir said of his opponent Brock Lesnar, “I hate who he is as a person. I want to break his neck in the ring. I want him to be the first person that dies due to Octagon-related injuries.”11 ? According to the Los Angeles Times, “Rampage” Jackson shouted “every conceivable gay slur” at a movie crew member of “The A-Team” who had called him a homophobic epithet.12 He was also quoted in the article saying, “Acting is kind of gay. It makes you soft.”
• In August, UFC heavyweight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was quoted saying that he would not train with gay students. He was quoted in USA Today saying, “What if the gay person has that malice of having physical contact with me, of staying there grappling? I would have no problems having a gay student in my academy, but I would rather not train with him.”
This kind of hateful rhetoric is not acceptable in America, where we are teaching our children to respect those who are different and where we are working to stop bullying in our schools and communities.
Remarkably, we have yet to find evidence that any of the UFC athletes identified in this letter have been disciplined by the UFC or its owner, Zuffa LLC. By contrast, other professional sports organizations have taken a hard stance against anti-gay conduct and have held athletes accountable through suspensions and/or fines when athletes have used homophobic epithets.
In fact, UFC president Dana White recently dismissed concerns regarding homophobic speech by people associated with the organization. In an interview, White said, “I don’t deal with the holier-than-thou, uh, bullshit. I don’t. We do the best we can do.” He also said, “How do you really think that we can possibly police 375 fighters and try to control everything they say?”
This month, a group of mothers and survivors of sexual assault in UFC’s home state of Nevada called on the UFC to stop tolerating offensive language and adopt an ethical code of conduct. The UFC has not responded to their demand.
The UFC has yet to demonstrate to the public that they are capable of promoting socially responsible behavior by its fighters. As a result, we strongly encourage you to reject any legislation that would enable this company to hold cage fighting events in the State of New York.
Respectfully,
Deborah D. Tucker Executive Director
cc: NCDSV Board of Directors Michele McKeon, New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence Joanne Zannoni, New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault Stacey Sarver, WomensLaw.org Chris Serres, Culinary Workers Union, Local 226
