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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Referee Yves Lavigne came under fire from UFC welterweight Josh Koscheck yesterday for comments he allegedly made to the Montreal news publication Le Journale de Montreal, and now Lavigne is denying ever giving the interview.
On both the Underground Forum and in a report at RingsideReport.net, Lavigne made the following statement:
"1. I NEVER gave an interview to that journalist
2. I NEVER gave an interview regarding GSP vs Koscheck
3. My lawyer is taking care of this matter."
The initial story was updated with a line saying, "Notons que suite à un malentendu, les propos de cet article ont été recueillis dans un contexte non propice à la diffusion." Translated it essentially means "Following a misunderstanding the quotes from this article were taken in a context that was unfit for public consumption."
Koscheck's reaction to the initial statements was justified, but if this publication does not have a record of Lavigne making the comments attributed to him, then even if it was conveyed in private it can't be proven that he made them. If that's the case, that paper could be in trouble for tarnishing Lavigne's reputation.
Penick's Analysis: My contention with the Lavigne comments was the fact that he allegedly made them in a public forum. We ran Koscheck's reaction and not the initial Lavigne report because it was in French and we were relying on possibly faulty translation, but Koscheck's reaction to the comments was worthy of comment. But unfortunately, it looks like Lavigne's reputation and standing as a referee could be adversely affected by comments he may not have said at all, or if he did it was in private conversation off the record and not meant for print. He's a grown man and is entitled to his opinion, but as a referee it's not his place to make those opinions public regarding fighters he'll be in the cage with. If he's got his lawyer working on it, I'm inclined to believe he should be given the benefit of the doubt, and that could lead to some big problems for that Montreal newspaper.
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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