The UFC
With other major sports organizations slapping players on the wrist for atrocities like knocking their wives unconscious, it is nice to see the UFC take their code of conduct more seriously. The NFL has more than just the Ray Rice incident. Most players who are accused domestic violence or violence against women in general, agree to anger management or domestic violence counseling to get the charges dropped all while still being allowed to play. Yes, the UFC has allowed fighters to come back after charges were dismissed, but there was always an indefinite suspension until legal matters were over. Thiago Silva’s contract has been terminated twice now. Their policy is not perfect though, with fighters like Abel Trujillo and Anthony Johnson still on the roster. Jon Jones however, was their cash cow, their biggest star and they stripped his title and suspended him indefinitely. By no means is a hit and run involving a pregnant woman a minor incident but it is less personal and more accidental in nature than domestic violence, and the punishment handed down was still swift and stern. If an NFL or NBA player had done the same thing Jones had, they would probably have all charges dropped, pay some money, take a DUI class, and still be allowed to play the whole time. Let’s be optimistic about our desire that there will be no Mayweathers or Ray Rices in the UFC. Champion or not MMA already has a lot of false narratives surrounding it, but let’s hope the UFC won’t allow domestic violence to be one of them. Straight from the mouth of the president, Dana white says, “We always were proactive. Since we started ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ we’ve done full background checks on all the guys coming in. If they ever had anything, any violence against women, they didn’t get on. We’ve been all over [the Anthony Johnson case] and when you move as fast as we move, and the things we’ve been doing, it’s hard to police thousands of guys and know what exactly is going on but as soon as we’ve found information on guys, we’ve acted. Of course, the way we always react is morally first then the business second.
