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By: Jason Bent, MMATorch Columnist That's right. Red Bull or Steven Seagal's Lightning Bolt or something of the sort is to blame for Jackson's highway incidents from last month.
Dana White paraded Quinton Jackson out in front of the press at a conference which was supposed to promote UFC 87 and in turn became something it should not have been at all. This was not the time nor the place to allow Rampage to speak to the media and Dana White did a disservice to every fighter on this card by allowing this moment to take away from the show on Saturday night.
Would Roger Goodell have Adam "Pac Man" Jones and Chris Henry as his guests on the dais as he tries to promote the kickoff to the 2008 NFL season?
No, and it would be in his best interest to try and minimize attention towards players who have cultivated a reputation for off the field antics and rather to try and promote all that is good in the league; because that is what is best for the league.
I lose a little respect for Dana White as he unleashed a nugget such as,"That car wreck? The reality is, he knocked her mirror off. The airbags didn’t open. There was no trauma done to her. You know what I mean? That one is out there like, 'He hit her and she lost her baby.' It was a week later. He knocked her mirror off her car. Rampage said, and he’ll tell you when you talk to him, 'I care about everybody. I care about all life. I would never hurt anybody.'" Not one person has stated that Jackson set out to cause harm to anyone on this day but he did and after the fact it is Rampage who is responsible. It was not an energy drink that caused the problems. Hell, the Kool Aid man may have busted through some walls when he was hopped up on sugar but he damn sure never got behind the wheel and drove.
Wow. Dana needed two chairs at this press conference as one would not be enough to hold the massive balls that he showed by making such a remark.
Well, I saw pictures of the Escalade and he did more than knock the damn mirror off of the vehicle. I firmly feel that Dana White is in no position to make public statements as far as the accident itself and the damages that Jackson may or may not have caused. It was not a man who looked like Quinton Jackson; it was Quinton Jackson who went off like a bottle rocket and, while I cannot state that I know what indeed caused this incident, I do know Jackson is the party responsible. Dana White's bold excuse for Jackson just makes White look like a hypocrite as it pertains to how a UFC fighter should conduct themselves. I guess when it is not in a UFC octagon or in a Fertitta-owned casino that everything goes.
I guess Jesse Taylor just kicked a window out, eh? No big deal. Not like anyone was hurt by his actions, am I right? No, it turned into a big deal and Rampage was in the room and nodding his head in agreement as Dana spoke about how a fighter should never conduct themselves in such a way. Well, here we are a few months later and a fighter has just done something that has caused more than a little trouble in a casino and all of a sudden he can find an excuse? Jesse Taylor was drunk that night. There is an excuse, right? Wait, Dana said there was no excuse for such actions; yet Jackson all hopped up on Red Bull or something of that nature is a perfect one? Give me a break.
If Rampage was hopped up on Red Bull than Dana White's drink of choice must be BAWLS energy drink because it took some "BAWLS" to make such an asinine statement to the media as far as giving some excuse for Quinton Jackson. Energy drinks? Up for 4 days without sleep? I don't know about you but that is pretty much how a coke bender works out and not just drinking too many energy drinks. Why not try this defense on for size when you get pulled over by a cop for speeding? Sorry, Officer but I have been guzzling Amp energy drinks and boy howdy have I been out of my mind. See, if that provides a great excuse when you are before the judge.
Johnnie Cochran has got to be smiling from wherever he is at this bold remark. The glove did not fit O.J. Simpson and that was a memorable moment to say the least and at the time it seemed ludicrous. Fast forward to today and I am thinking that Dana White pulled an excuse out of his ass that even Cochran never would have thought of. Let's just see how we could spin things and provide some great defenses as it pertains to other crimes, shall we?
Michael Vick was not abusing dogs, but rather he was training them so that they could hopefully make it on CBS' "Greatest American Dog" television show alongside Tillman the skateboarding bulldog. How is that one for you? Or what if I were to say that Amy Winehouse just has a problem with Jolt Cola and a lack of sleep due to all of that sugar and caffeine? You buying that one? We could go on and on and why not even go so far as to state that Lindsay Lohan was perhaps just battling a Coca-Cola problem last year and that was what was meant by "coke problem". I think if I were faced with choosing a defense attorney that I would select Dana White over Ben Matlock any day of the week.
If you buy Dana White's bullsh*t as far as Rampage and energy drinks; I have some IFL stock I would love to sell to you for a wonderful price!
The best thing for anyone is to keep their mouth shut and by that I mean both Jackson and White and anyone at all who was either involved or has a vested interest in this case. It does no party any good to spout off publicly about someone as it pertains to a legal case that is far from over with. It shows a decided lack of class to openly paint this woman as someone who saw dollar signs when Jackson struck her vehicle.
This woman did not see f*****g dollar signs! She saw a truck driving across the median and coming right for her! You think she yelled, "Cha-Ching" as she braced herself for the impact? I don't know if Dana White has ever been in an auto accident that has been more than scraping one of his 24" rims against a curb but accidents are not fun and litigation is not a joyride or the same as pulling the golden ticket out of a Wonka Bar. Lawsuits can take up to 3 years and in some cases they can drag out even longer and anyone who has been involved in one is not exactly hoping they could be so lucky a second time. Also the fact of the matter is that Quinton Jackson is wealthy for a fighter but again, you would be better off waiting for Shia LeBeouf to pull out in his truck if you are seeking a celebrity to hit your vehicle. Yes, she has retained a lawyer but this was not a low class move in doing so. Dana White laughing off the incident as no big deal is a low class move.
Today should be about tomorrow's fight card and the fighters who are front and center on this excellent card. Roger Huerta, Kenny Florian, Brock Lesnar, Heath Herring, Georges St. Pierre and Jon Fitch should be on our minds today; not Quinton Jackson.
Dana White picked the wrong time and the wrong place to present Rampage to the media and this press conference was a joke, except it was of the unfunny variety. To downplay any aspect of this incident is simply wrong and the right thing to do is to allow it to play out behind the scenes and not make any statements whatsoever. I would be fine if White wants to tell us how he is behind Jackson regaining his life and getting his house in order but I would not like to hear him make light of this incident and paint a victim in such a poor light. Dana White now is firmly entrenched in this poor light and UFC 87 has been left in the dark as the press conference became about Jackson in most minds and not so much about a UFC card.
Dana White has always expressed that no one fighter is bigger than the UFC and has been quick to remind us of this time and time again. Well, it sure seems like this is somehow different if your name is Quinton Jackson. Of course Dana White is not protecting Quinton Jackson because of Jackson as a man but rather as an asset to the company. So at the end of the day this is about money and it is about trying to protect Jackson so long as he can be an earner for the company. It is about dollar signs and at its core this is what this case has become about to one concerned party.
Holli Griggs did not see dollar signs when Quinton Jackson struck her vehicle. Dana White did, and he saw them potentially flying away.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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