...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Yoel Romero was in backtracking mode at the UFC Fight Night 70 post-fight press conference, trying to contend that his post-fight comments after knocking out Lyoto Machida were not, in fact, the rant that it seemed to be.
Following the event, Romero made the following comments in a very impassioned manner:
"Hey UFC, hey Miami, hey Florida. Listen, listen, listen. What happened to you, USA? What happened to you? You forget, for the best of the best of the world, the name is Jesus Christ. What happened to you? Wake up, USA. Go. Go back for you, go. Go back for you Jesus, no forget Jesus, people."
That final sentence was also heard by many as "not for gay Jesus, people," which led to some arguments on social media which completely ignored the timing of the comments and the context in which they were said.
At the post-fight press conference, following what was very likely a discussion with UFC officials, Romero had a significantly different tone. However, while he's now contending that he meant something very different than how it was all taken.
"First of all, I want to apologize if there was a misunderstanding," Romero said through a translator (transcribed by Anton Tabuena at BloodyElbow.com). "First of all, I am a man of God, and God is love. My expressions are always going to be about love. What I was saying in the Octagon was to look for the American dream. There was a misunderstanding about gay marriage, and I want to say something.
"God told Mary Magdalene, you're a prostitute. Go, and don't sin anymore. He told her with love. Who am I to judge anybody? Even though I didn't refer to that, even if there was a misunderstanding, I will tell you guys something. God made man to be free. Anybody can do whatever they want. I wouldn't be the type of person to critique anybody. I've got to look at myself first, to be a better person.
"I didn't refer to anybody. What I was saying to the United States, was thank you for giving me the American dream. There's no better country because it is blessed by god. It's in the dollars, that this country is made by Christian people. That means it is blessed by god. Thank you USA."
Penick's Analysis: I'm not sure he's made anything better here. Saying "thank you for giving me the American dream" after "What's wrong with you, USA?" and "Wake up, USA" doesn't mesh. Again, the context and timing of his comments, not to mention the seemingly vitriolic way in which they were said, don't at all convey the positivity he's tried to pass off after the fact. At any rate, regardless of what he truly believes on the subject, he chose a very poor platform on which to espouse his personal beliefs about America having issues. This isn't a country of only christians. It's not a country of only straight people. Romero himself is evidence of the vastly diverse identity that is the make up of this country, a Cuban immigrant who has been able to live, work, and yes, pursue his American dream in the U.S. His zealotry isn't something the rest of the country must get on board with, and at the very least, a UFC broadcast is a highly inappropriate platform from which to express that suggestion.
DON'T GO YET... WE SUGGEST THESE MMATORCH ARTICLES, TOO!
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
