Tag: UFC on FX

Miguel Torres must have thought he was cleverly supporting the FX network by tweeting out this line from the hit show, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: “”If a rape van was called a surprise van more women wouldn’t mind going for rides in them.” Torres later deleted the direct quote and posted a more politically correct revision: “If a windowless van was called a surprise van more people wouldn’t mind going for rides in them. Everyone likes surprises.”

But by then the Twitter damage was done and Dana White immediately released Torres from the UFC telling SI.com:

“There’s no explanation for that. There’s absolutely nothing I could say to make any sense of that. And the fact that he even thinks that’s funny or that’s a joke, it disturbs me. It bothers me.

Is this fair? Well, for an organization handing out Twitter bonuses for most creative tweets, maybe the UFC earns the right to punish you for tweets, as well. But it sure is a shame Torres made a stupid mistake. It was probably the absolute worst line he could have tweeted in the wake of the Forrest Griffin backlash to his misunderstood rape tweet and Rashad Evans‘ reference to Jerry Sandusky which was in awfully poor taste, though at the time, he believed it to be a witty insult against Penn State alum, Phil Davis. And all these ridiculous rape comments are coming at the worst possible time, when the UFC is just entering the world of mainstream television. Granted, Torres was quoting a Fox related network show; but the quote was unnecessary to even tweet out. And damn it, if he’d only initially posted the “window less van” version, he might still have a job.

Bottom line, our fighters are going to need PR teams checking their 140 characters or less before they hit the tweet button. Should White reconsider and relent on his decision to let go of Torres? I hope he does. I am a female with a pretty open sense of humor and I thought it was super super stupid that Torres tweeted that line. The context just wasn’t there to support him like it is when you see it spoken in the episode, “The Gang Solves the Gas Crisis”. But, I think his reputation precedes him. Regardless, these fighters need to shelve their burgeoning rape comments and remember they are role models, whether they like it or not. It’s part of the athlete’s job when he/she is publicly representing an organization that pays his/her bills. Nobody cares what the Average Joe writes, but a professional athlete is no longer anonymous or average, so people take notice.

At the very least these fighters should consider, when it comes to tweets, if you have to explain yourself past the allotted 140 characters, there’s a chance someone may not get it, so don’t tweet it. This is our sports’ time to shine and when you’re paid to be in the public eye, you have a responsibility for the sh*t you say. Leave the offensive lines to those brave keyboard warriors out there.