(Also, wearing a scarf over a t-shirt indoors will now be punishable by death. / Photo via Esther Lin for MMAFighting)
As revealed in an update on Benson Henderson’s Facebook fan page, the UFC has just instituted a dress code for its fighters that would ban shorts and require shoes during publicity and marketing appearances. Though requiring athletes to look professional in public is something that other major sports leagues already do, Henderson took the news as a personal affront to his freedom, and his easy-breezy open-toed lifestyle. Here’s what Bendo had to say:
Mwahahaha!!! Guess @ufc decided to make it official…I’m a start calling them the NBA…guess it’s one thing to be encouraged to do or dress one way & entirely another thing to be told to do or dress one way…
“Per Jackie, effective immediately, fighters and talent traveling on press tours and PR/marketing-related appearances are no longer permitted to wear shorts or flip flops. Jeans are acceptable and shoes are a must.”
Don’t get me wrong, I’m gonna dress how my employers want but doesn’t mean I gotta be happy about it…”Don’t let the man hold you down” “Fight the power” “You can take my life but you can never take my FREEDOM!!!”
(Also, wearing a scarf over a t-shirt indoors will now be punishable by death. / Photo via Esther Lin for MMAFighting)
As revealed in an update on Benson Henderson’s Facebook fan page, the UFC has just instituted a dress code for its fighters that would ban shorts and require shoes during publicity and marketing appearances. Though requiring athletes to look professional in public is something that other major sports leagues already do, Henderson took the news as a personal affront to his freedom, and his easy-breezy open-toed lifestyle. Here’s what Bendo had to say:
Mwahahaha!!! Guess @ufc decided to make it official…I’m a start calling them the NBA…guess it’s one thing to be encouraged to do or dress one way & entirely another thing to be told to do or dress one way…
“Per Jackie, effective immediately, fighters and talent traveling on press tours and PR/marketing-related appearances are no longer permitted to wear shorts or flip flops. Jeans are acceptable and shoes are a must.”
Don’t get me wrong, I’m gonna dress how my employers want but doesn’t mean I gotta be happy about it…”Don’t let the man hold you down” “Fight the power” “You can take my life but you can never take my FREEDOM!!!”
The UFC has been rolling out an official Code of Conduct since January, which has so far focused on offensive and discriminatory statements made by fighters. (See: Mitrione, Diaz.) A dress code simply discourages fighters from looking unprofessional when they’re fulfilling the promotional part of their job, and we see no problem with that.
As for the UFC’s lightweight champion, Henderson drowned his sorrows at the mall following his Facebook-venting.
Update: According to a UFC official quoted by MMAJunkie, “There is no dress code to speak of. We simply ask that our athletes not wear shorts or flip flops at company-related press tours/media functions.”
Regardless of how you feel about the whole Pat Healy situation (it’s some bullshit) or Bryan Caraway’s subsequent anti-marijuana rant, it would be hard to argue that Nate Diaz expressed his opinions on the situation correctly when he called Caraway a “Fag” for “taking” Healy’s SOTN bonus. Whether he meant to offend the LGBT community or not when he typed it (our guess is that he didn’t, which his manager has also *attempted* to affirm), he probably should have known that, as a public figure, you can’t so much as call someone “lame” in the public forum without incurring the wrath of all the stump-footed people you offended shortly thereafter. It’s the world we live in, for better or for worse, and it’s also why a “Code of Conduct” was recently established in the UFC.
The fact that UFC fighters have been fired over similar (albeit much more offensive) tweets in the past should have raised some red flags, which is maybe why Diaz deleted his original tweet, then reworded it to his liking before posting it yesterday. Unfortunately for Diaz, the UFC has responded quickly and harshly, stating the following:
We are very disappointed by Nate Diaz’s comments, which are in no way reflective of our organization. Nate is currently suspended pending internal investigation and we will provide further comment once the matter has been decided.
We are going to fine, suspend or cut him. One or two of those three will happen.
(Let’s just say that Diaz’s apology is still in the early draft stage.)
Regardless of how you feel about the whole Pat Healy situation (it’s some bullshit) or Bryan Caraway’s subsequent anti-marijuana rant, it would be hard to argue that Nate Diaz expressed his opinions on the situation correctly when he called Caraway a “Fag” for “taking” Healy’s SOTN bonus. Whether he meant to offend the LGBT community or not when he typed it (our guess is that he didn’t, which his manager has also *attempted* to affirm), he probably should have known that, as a public figure, you can’t so much as call someone “lame” in the public forum without incurring the wrath of all the stump-footed people you offended shortly thereafter. It’s the world we live in, for better or for worse, and it’s also why a “Code of Conduct” was recently established in the UFC.
The fact that UFC fighters have been fired over similar (albeit much more offensive) tweets in the past should have raised some red flags, which is maybe why Diaz deleted his original tweet, then reworded it to his liking before posting it yesterday. Unfortunately for Diaz, the UFC has responded quickly and harshly, stating the following:
We are very disappointed by Nate Diaz’s comments, which are in no way reflective of our organization. Nate is currently suspended pending internal investigation and we will provide further comment once the matter has been decided.
We are going to fine, suspend or cut him. One or two of those three will happen.
While it would perhaps be a bit over-reactionary should the UFC decide to actually cut Diaz for his tweet, you can’t exactly claim to be shocked by the backlash Diaz has received in the time since. Again, it’s the world we live in, and as with Healy’s case, you simply gotta play by the rules. Diaz’s tweet wasn’t “stupid” as we so eloquently deemed it because it offended anyone — whether accidentally or otherwise — it was stupid because Diaz knew that writing it would result in the punishment he currently faces and had a mountain of evidence to confirm it. It’s not a matter of political correctness, it’s a matter of common sense.
We have no idea what the UFC is hoping to uncover with an “internal investigation” of a goddamn tweet, but if this plays out at all like the Matt Mitrione situation, Diaz will likely receive a suspension shorter than most layovers at Logan International and we can go back to acting like this thing never happened.
In any case, we’d be lying if we said our interest wasn’t starting to peak for the inaugural WAR MMA card.
