CONTACTABOUTFACEBOOKTWITTERPODCAST IPHONE APPANDROID APPAMAZON APPWINDOWS APPRSS
NEW FORUM

GOT THE MMATORCH APP YET?
iPhone & iPad
Android
Kindle Fire
Windows Phone
MMATORCH IPHONE APP

MMATORCH

All the MMA News • Plus Intelligent, Brilliant, Addictive Points of View!
Independently Covering MMA Since 1993 • No Big Corporate Bosses

Penick's Take
PENICK: War Machine rape Tweets bring small time response from Bellator to big league problem
Aug 11, 2013 - 2:15:51 PM
PENICK: War Machine rape Tweets bring small time response from Bellator to big league problem
DISCUSS ALL THIS IN OUR NEW MMATORCH FORUM
...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!



Bellator_MMA_logo_9.jpg


By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

When Bellator MMA made the conscious decision to employ Jon "War Machine" Koppenhaver, they knew precisely what his history was. They even played up him getting out of jail for promotion's sake, and tried to walk a line of "redemption" with him coming back to the MMA after several tumultuous years.

But "War Machine" is who he's always been, and that was on display Saturday in a series of disgusting Tweets regarding rape and his girlfriend Christy Mack. It began with this one:




Which was followed with a Tweet he's since deleted, which read: "Real men rape. ( Their GF's and wives, not strangers, don't get your panties in a bunch.)"

That brought a hugely negative reaction on Twitter, so he deleted that comment and attacked those who were upset by it.







Mack came to his defense to make it clear he wasn't seriously raping her, not that anyone actually believed that was the case, and passed it off as him saying something stupid.




Still, three hours after his defensive tirade, the following comment was posted on his timeline:




In the span of three hours, he goes from defending his comments and lashing out at it being "taken out of context," to a very "corporate" sounding apology which most will deduce came from Bellator higher ups.

So given the apology on its face wasn't taken as sincere, or even War Machine's words, the statement made by Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney in the wake of those comments and said "apology" is all the more disappointing.

Said Rebney*:

"I agree with those who found Jon's earlier statement to be offensive and inappropriate. And, while his public apology surely does not excuse his statement, it does evidence his recognition of the seriousness of the situation and his realization that what he said was offensive, ignorant and hurtful.

Since the day I entered this business, I've believed that my job was to treat our fighters like human beings and not like property. Human beings make mistakes and sometimes say stupid things.

I'm surely prepared to take action in warranted situations as evidenced by recent promotional contracts we have terminated with well-known, popular fighters who have committed assault and/or who have broken the law. But, in this situation, I remain hopeful that Jon will learn from his mistake, redeem himself and become a better man for it and I would like to give him that chance."


Rebney's stance here is predicated on the idea that Koppenhaver has any real recognition that what he said was ridiculous, and unacceptable for someone in his public spot. He was rightfully taken to task because it was an idiotic thing to say, and that apology didn't in any way, shape, or form seem to be something he himself would write.

It reads like something he was told to say, like so many prepared athlete "apologies" of the past, and is not a recognition that what he said was simply wrong. It's not something he's going to learn from, and Bellator continuously giving him opportunities given the copious amounts of things he does not to earn those spots reflects poorly on them.

Yes, human beings make mistakes. Yes, human beings sometimes say stupid things. But here's the thing: those stupid comments have consequences. Is there any doubt that Koppenhaver would have been fired from any normal job for making comments like that in a social media setting? There are plenty of examples you can find of people in everyday 9-5 jobs who have made idiotic comments and lost their jobs because of it.

Why is this already controversial signing for Bellator allowed more rope? The UFC has been getting blasted by the Culinary Union's activist groups about the things their fighters have said, but they've at least taken action and partially held fighters accountable for what they've said. The most clear example is Miguel Torres, and neither of his comments approaching the "rape joke" subject came anywhere near Koppenhaver's level on those comments.

If Bellator and Viacom want to be seen as on par with the UFC, and if they legitimately have aspirations to take on that top mantle themselves, then the handling of this is simply not good enough. It hurts their image for continuing to employ him with nothing more than a simple statement being made hoping he'll learn his lesson. There's no consequences here for him.

Bellator is a big league promotion now, and wants to be seen as such, so they deserve the same type of scrutiny the UFC receives when something like this happens. This reaction from Rebney and simple acceptance of the situation just isn't good enough. The disdain towards his spot on the roster and the fact that they promote him more heavily than some others is going to be felt through the fanbase, and that's a continued negativity they just don't need.

What's clearer than anything in this situation is that War Machine is exactly as advertised. He's brash, he's an "alpha male" spouting, overly aggressive man child with no filter. They knew that when they brought him on, and are culpable when they are complicit with and enable said behavior. Quite simply, War Machine is who Bellator thought he was, and they let him off the hook.



*Statement posted at SI.com's "FanSided" blog

(Attention MMATorch app users: Make sure to upgrade to the latest edition of the MMATorch app on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device!)

-Follow Us on Twitter: CLICK HERE
-Like Us on Facebook: CLICK HERE
-Listen to our Weekly Podcast: CLICK HERE
-Subscribe to our Podcast in iTunes: CLICK HERE
-Get our Free iPhone App: CLICK HERE
-Get our Free Amazon Kindle App: CLICK HERE
-Get our Free Android App: CLICK HERE


DON'T GO YET... WE SUGGEST THESE MMATORCH ARTICLES, TOO!
UFC 195 PREVIEW: Penick's main card preview and fight picks for "Lawler vs. Condit" event
Penick's 2015 MMA Awards: "Submission of the Year" - Ronda Rousey's inverted armbar over Cat Zingano at UFC 184
Penick's 2015 MMA Awards: "KO of the Year" - Holly Holm's head kick over Ronda Rousey at UFC 193

comments powered by Disqus
HERE ARE EVEN MORE ARTICLES THAT MIGHT INTEREST YOU

SELECT ARTICLES BY CATEGORY
SEARCH MMATORCH BY KEYWORD


MMATORCH CALENDAR OF EVENTS
CLICK HERE FOR LIST OF UPCOMING MMA EVENTS
CLICK TO SEE A UFC VIDEO BELOW

ARTICLES OF INTEREST ELSEWHERE
MMATORCH POLL - VOTE NOW!

Will T.J. Dillashaw and Urijah Faber eventually fight?
 
pollcode.com free polls

Do you think Daniel Cormier will defeat returning Jon Jones to legitimize UFC Light Heavyweight Title reign?
 
pollcode.com free polls

VOTE IN OR SEE RESULTS OF PREVIOUS POLLS

MMATORCH WEEKLY LIVECAST
Listen to the weekly MMATORCH LIVECAST on Blog Talk Radio


MMATORCH STAFF

EDITORS:

Wade Keller, supervising editor
(mmatorch@gmail.com)

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.

MORE MMA SITES
CONTACTABOUTFACEBOOKTWITTERPODCAST IPHONE APPANDROID APPAMAZON APPWINDOWS APPRSS
THE TORCH: #1 IN COMBAT ENTERTAINMENT COVERAGE | © 1999-2013 TDH Communications Inc. • All rights reserved -- PRIVACY POLICY