Hyden's Take
HYDEN BLOG: Reaction to Matt Mitrione's Comments on Fallon Fox
Apr 9, 2013 - 10:45:43 AM HYDEN BLOG: Reaction to Matt Mitrione's Comments on Fallon Fox

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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor

Matt Mitrione has been suspended by the UFC after he went off on a idiotic rant against transgender fighter Fallon Fox during an interview on The MMA Hour.

"He's chromosomally a man," Mitrione said. "He had a gender change, not a sex change. He's still a man. He was a man for 31 years. Thirty-one years. That's a couple years younger than I am. He's a man. Six years of taking performance de-hancing drugs, you think is going to change all that? That's ridiculous.

"That is a lying, sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak. And I mean that. Because you lied on your license to beat up women. That's disgusting. You should be embarrassed yourself. And the fact that Florida licensed him because California licensed him or whoever the hell did it, it's an embarrassment to us as fighters, as a sport, and we all should protest that. The woman that's fighting him, props to you. I hope you beat his ass, and I hope he gets blackballed and never fights again, because that's disgusting and I'm appalled by that."

That's the same kind of garbage thinking that was spewed against Jackie Robinson when he was breaking the color barrier in baseball. You spit out a bunch of crap because you don't know any better. Fallon Fox is not a man, and her testosterone levels are not equivalent to a man's. You say one thing, but the evidence says another thing.

Mitrione is not alone in his thinking; a few weeks ago UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez expressed his belief that it's not fair for Fox to fight women. Except, Velasquez expressed his concerns in a reasonable and thought out response, avoiding the disrespectful vitriol levied by Mitrione. The part where Mitrione said, "That is a lying, sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak" was in reference to Fox wanting to beat up women, because Mitrione considers Fox to still be a man and that's how Mitrione would consider any man who wants to beat up women.

Mitrione wasn't addressing transgenders in general with that comment, and I don't know what his true thoughts are on that subject, though it's pretty easy to believe you can infer them from his comments. In this instance, it doesn't matter that Mitrione is wrong about Fox still being a man, that wasn't his point. His point was that any man who wants to beat up women is a "sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak". The "lying" part was about Fox saying she's a woman, which Mitrione believes to be false. It's clear that Mitrione was suffering from a major case of ineloquence here.

It was especially troublesome to read the comments sections of some of the other places where I read this story addressed. At MMATorch.com we use Facebook verification which really cuts down on the idiotic comments you would normally find in the comments section. That's because a Facebook log-in creates an extra layer of accountability that severely limits the more outlandish and hate-filled garbage you often see in comment sections without this layer.

The comments ranged from the expected hate towards transgenders (which I personally find troubling and sad) to the more outlandish and ridiculous. I even saw one person say that Fox had an advantage in taking body shots because men have an extra rib that women don't. The old wives' tale is that women have an extra rib that men don't so if anything Fox would be at a disadvantage there. Of course, the whole "extra rib" thing isn't true but it speaks to the misinformation that is prevalent in society.

In the end, I think that Mitrione won't be too hurt by his suspension and hopefully it leads to a more careful calculation when it comes to choosing your words in the future. I hope that Matt sees the error of his ways and works to correct them. I hope that everyone who holds these beliefs can come to realize that they need to reevaluate their stance and perhaps give more thought to these kinds of topics.


Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com