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By: Michael Bane, MMATorch Contributor
This regular feature from new contributor Michael Bane, a practicing attorney out of Chicago, is a legal take on recent headlines and stories in the world of MMA. Today he looks at the latest in the Jon Jones situation, WSOF signing Thiago Silva, and more.
And the Jon Jones-cocaine saga continues. The UFC finally took a disciplinary stance on the matter and fined Jones $25,000 for his pre-UFC 182 cocaine use and subsequent failed drug test. In reality, there wasn't much the UFC could do outside of a fine. The UFC was aware of Jones' positive test prior to the fight (even if Jones himself was not) and allowed him to fight Daniel Cormier. Suspending him for any time frame after the fight would scream of hypocrisy in the name of profit, particularly as such a time frame could be time that Jones would be off between fights anyway. A fine was really the only way to go.
Regardless of how much money you make, $25,000 is still quite a bit of cash, and not a hit any professional athlete would want to take on a regular basis. The amount of the fine is governed by the UFC's agreement with Jones (likely implemented through the Fighter Conduct Policy that governs all their fighters), as any such fighter discipline would be. Because of the UFC's historically strong negotiating position, the UFC likely has carte blanche to hand down whatever discipline they see fit for a long list of behaviors and actions.
It is important to note that this fine was almost surely for what is known in the NFL as "damaging the shield." This is basically hurting the reputation of your employing organization by off-the-field behavior, and doesn't have anything to do with your in-competition performance or actions. It is essentially a morality clause designed to help the UFC maintain a positive public perception, particularly important given that their events are comprised of people trying to beat each other senseless.
What the UFC's Fighter Conduct Policy states about rehabilitation after a positive drug test is unknown, but we can assume that whatever actions Jones has taken are sufficient, given Dana White's comments. While "rehab" was undoubtedly a PR move, it's possible that there is no rehabilitation requirement for things like Jones did. It's also possible (and many would say likely), that Jones' cocaine use is not indicative of any type of drug addiction/problem, and any type of rehabilitation is not necessary. Having said that, it's never great for PR stunts to actually look like PR stunts, and Jones' mother saying he spent a day in rehab just screams of insult to those looking for the problem to be taken seriously. Dana White's statement that the one night stay is "not necessarily the case" is a classic way of saying something to case doubt while saying nothing at all. At the end of the day, Jones rehab stay doesn't matter nearly as much as whether or not he has a drug problem and whether or not the UFC applies their Fighter Conduct Policy consistently.
In criminal law, Blackstone's formulation states: "It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer." There's a decent likelihood (let's hedge just to avoid saying something libelous) that Thiago Silva is one of the ten "escaping." Not only has he avoided prison for attempted murder, he has a shiny new contract with the World Series of Fighting and a March 28 fight against Ronny Markes.
As a smaller promotion it's understandable that the chance to sign elite talent would be hard to pass up. Indeed, the WSOF has done its best to secure UFC-worthy talent when it becomes available. Of course, the reason these top level talents are available often has to do with more than just wins, losses, or ability. The WSOF has previously shown a willingness to overlook character concerns (see Palhares, Rousimar) that other organizations didn't feel were worth the trouble.
Look, it's understandable. Top talents can help to add eyeballs, which is what ultimately affects the bottom line. That said, there's a huge difference between someone intentionally trying to ruin their opponents' knees by not releasing a hold, and someone threatening to shoot 25 people and to hire a hit man to kill his wife.
Ray Sefo (WSOF President) is correct: Silva was not convicted. His charges of attempted murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon were ultimately reduced and dropped. Sefo is also correct in pointing out that you're innocent until proven guilty. However, let's not confuse legal guilt with actual guilt. Silva is not legally guilty of the things he was charged with because he was not convicted for them in court. Because Silva's estranged wife fled the country (almost like she was trying to get away from someone), there wasn't enough evidence and/or testimony for the state to pursue the charges. This does not change the fact that Silva either did do these things, or he did not. Sefo's statements of lack of conviction and implied innocence are just hopeful attempts to get people to confuse actual guilt with legal guilt, and thus arrive at the conclusion that Silva must not have done these horrible things.
Given the barbaric nature that people often associate with prize fighters, this is a dangerous game to play. With signings like these, Palhares, and convicted sex offender Devin Cole, the WSOF has shown they are willing to overlook behavior issues in the name of talent and profit. Whether or not this comes back to haunt them remains to be seen.
Let's assume Henderson is telling the truth. If I had to guess, and I am guessing, the UFC contacted Henderson's management team and someone with assumed or real authority agreed to the opponent change. Regardless of the company man that Henderson appears to be, I cannot imagine the UFC would be so reckless as to announce a major opponent change if there was danger that the fighter would not show up to the bout.
Besides the possibility of egg on their faces, the UFC would be putting a good amount of bargaining power in Henderson's court by the fight announcement. Henderson could hold out for a raise or bonus that the UFC may or may not pay in order to show up to the fight. If a fighter doesn't want to fight, despite whatever pressure the UFC may put on the fighter, there's nothing the UFC can do to compel him or her to do so. Cutting a top-talent fighter for refusing to take a fight isn't nearly the option it used to be, now that Bellator has shown they can give salaries that are competitive to what the UFC can offer. This is largely a non-story, and really just adds to the narrative that that Cerrone established by being a guy that will fight anyone, anywhere. Henderson has thrown his hat into that particular ring with this particular comment.
The UFC is really upping the ante in the whole "Rampage terminated his contract with Bellator and is now under contract with the UFC now" fiasco. While both sides have lately refrained from commenting on Rampage's fighting status, they are both still publicly claiming Jackson as their fighting talent. The UFC has announced Jackson as a participant on their UFC 186 card, while you can still go to Bellator's website and find Jackson listed as a fighter in their light heavyweight division.
Would the UFC be so cavalier as to put a fighter on their card whose contract status was still so much of an unknown? Only if they're looking to pick a very public fight. Bellator is now basically backed into a corner. As the UFC has publicly shown, they are going to go forward full steam ahead with Jackson as their contracted fighter. Bellator's options are quickly diminishing, and the UFC is forcing them into a place where they're either going to have to file suit and request a preliminary injunction (as detailed in last week's Legal Take), or just walk away altogether.
While the UFC may have tried this type of bully move in the past because they could, it's important to note that money is not an issue for either Bellator (or the UFC) when it comes to legal matters. The merits of the situation are much more relevant than they used to be when the UFC was the only show in town of any significance. The UFC almost assuredly feels that Rampage's contract with Bellator has been lawfully terminated. Given what little Bellator has to gain from contesting this, it won't be surprising when Jackson faces off with Maldonado at UFC 186.
In December of 2014 a former Illinois high school football player filed a class-action lawsuit against the Illinois High School Association over failure to adequately establish and administer proper concussion protocol during high school football games. Any casual sports fan knows that this was hardly the first lawsuit filed for sports-related concussions, though it was the first filed for injuries allegedly sustained for high school football competition. While the NFL's own major concussion lawsuit is awaiting final settlement approval, the resolution of this particular litigation will hardly spell the end of suit filings, as the recent high school lawsuit is showing us.
Concussions in combat sports are not only obvious, they're essentially encouraged. One of the more crowd-pleasing ways to win a fight is to concuss your opponent with a blow to the head and thus render him or her unconscious. Given that repeated strikes to the head (in any type of sport) tend to be conducive to impaired cognitive abilities later in live, it's highly likely (if not 100% certain) that MMA fighters will experience mental impairment after their careers are finished.
Does the UFC face a similar lawsuit in the future? Where there's a dollar to chase, former athletes in need (often through encouragement by lawyers who also want to chase dollars) will file suit where they can. Whether through desperation or legitimate complaint, litigation will arise when there is any type of alleged causation and deep pockets to chase. While combat sports have been concussion-happy, there's been a few reasons these lawsuits have not been pursued by former fighters.
For starters, there has historically been a lack of a deep pocket sporting league to sue. Secondly, unless a fighter has fought exclusively in the UFC (and basically forgone training), good luck showing that the damage sustained over the course of a career occurred with a specific organization, and not in sparring, amateur competition, or fighting in another organization.
Those things said, there now exists at least one fighting organization that potentially has the necessary deep pockets to make a concussion lawsuit worthwhile. And while precedent has not been set that such injuries can be traced to a specific league (remember, the NFL settled without admitting any fault), the fact that there was a multi-million dollar settlement is encouraging to those athletes who may want to pursue similar action in the future. Because of this, it would be more surprising if such a suit wasn't filed in the future against the UFC (or Bellator or some future large promotion that may arise), than if it was. While those promotions will have some very good defenses to raise, that won't stop some athlete needing financial help later on in life from bringing a potentially good-faith claim.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
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