Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com reports this week that Dana White’s vicious, slur-filled rant against MMA writer Loretta Hunt and gays has “already has proven costly to White, a part-UFC owner who helped turn a money-losing promotion into a burgeoning sports entity.”
(Next up: UFC loses mega Anheuser-Busch ad deal?)
More:
White already has reportedly pulled out of a reality show that was going to be based on his life. White, who has positioned himself as the high-profile face of the UFC, also is believed to have stopped his video blog.
It’s about damn time. And the pressure on White is continuing as the L.A. TIMES is now reporting that the Assn. of Women in Sports Media is demanding White’s superiors at the UFC, Las Vegas casino owners Lorenzo Fertitta and his brother Frank, “take action” against him.
Remember White gave a (backhanded) apology to the gay community after his fbomb-fest, but reiterated his ugly stance toward Hunt.
Hunt herself has not demanded an apology from White, which is curious considering White has personally blocked her from acquiring press credentials for UFC events since 2005.
So what would she have to lose by going after White now?!
Meanwhile, the Fertittas have been silent through White’s public relations debacle, which gives off the impression, fair or not, that they are endorsing White’s behavior.
If White doesn’t apologize to Hunt for his inexcusable language, I wonder what the next shoe will be to drop.
I’m guessing the UFC’s monster advertising deal with Anheuser-Busch, which was hailed when it was consumated as validating the MMA operation as a legitimate, mainstream sports entity. To many before that, UFC/MMA was still viewed as an underground, questionable enterprise.
Right now, with the Ferttitas refusing to reprimand White and White refusing to apologize to Hunt, that ad agreement with A-B clearly isn’t in jeopardy. But if those two parties all of a sudden have a change of heart, you can bet the prospect of losing deals that generate big bucks for UFC - like the Bud deal - will be reason behind it.
If I was running the Assn. of Women in Sports Media and I couldnt procure an apology from White, my next phone called would be to St. Louis.
Stay tuned.
5:50 pm on April 10th, 2009
WOW. Dana White has done Brooks wrong!!! I have never seen you this motivated or jaded. Is it that hard to comprehend that a meathead like White isn't too concerned about who he insults? Hell, his slurs fit his demographic, so let's just move on to a topic more worthy of our time. New SbB Girls Photos!!!!
6:04 pm on April 10th, 2009
whats his demographic again — repressed teenage boys who like to watch big sweaty muscle-bound men roll around on the ground together?
let's see… hates women.. puts on a viciously homophobic persona in public… HMMMM….
come on dana, out of the closet with you big stud muffin you! i know some bears in san francisco who'd love to help you come to terms with your real self.
8:07 pm on April 10th, 2009
Brooks,
We get it, you don't like Dana White and the UFC. But at this point you're starting to sound like a whiny p***y. You made your career as an alternative journalist profiting off of free dissemination of opinions and now you're a crusader for moral justice?
Get over it, it's getting pathetic.
8:45 pm on April 10th, 2009
whats up with MMA fighters and herpeas ?
8:54 pm on April 10th, 2009
Time to move on from Dana White Gate. People just dont care about this story as much as you do and desperatly trying to report nothing news about it to keep it in your headlines isn't going to make them care. This is turning into ESPN coverage of Spygate/Barry Bonds/anything T.O. No one cares about this. don't become the blog version of ESPN. Moving on
12:55 pm on April 11th, 2009
BROOKS MOVE ON ALREADY!!!!!! WHY ARE YOU OBSESSED WITH WHITE?
DOES BROOKS HAVE A CRUSH ON WHITE?
DOES BROOKS WANT TO LICK WHITE'S BALD HEAD?
THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO CARE ARE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO STILL POP ZITS AND BROOKS WHO HAS A SERIOUS MAN-CRUSH ON WHITE.
DID WHITE TURN YOU DOWN ONE LONELY NIGHT WHILE WALKING ON THE BEACH TOGETHER AND YOU STILL HAVE NOT GOTTEN OVER IT?
if anything happens, it will be politically correctness where people will boycott companies that advertise in the UFC.
the economy sucks, this "sport" will naturally suffer as well as the owners financial problems will hamper it.
3:14 pm on April 11th, 2009
Good work Brooks - don't let up on this story. Just because the national media ignored it, doesn't mean you should. Don't let all the fan-boys sway you.
3:51 pm on April 11th, 2009
wow, you guys should at least have the sense to remove your chuckle of a response to anna rawson's "hate speech" on this blog.
is it that he attacked a fellow blogger? because this is pretty ridiculous.
5:05 pm on April 11th, 2009
right, so few ppl care that white pulled out of his reality show and is now keeping a low profile. obviously no one cares!
if espn had the gumption to give the story the placement it deserves, white would be suspended and ufc would lose advertisers in droves.
11:26 pm on April 11th, 2009
Who cares? I think you are just jealous of White's success. Move on no one cares! Don't be a hater.
1:08 am on April 12th, 2009
Brooks does come across as been disrespected in some fashion by Dana. Maybe he had a bad run in with him in the past, I dont know. Just seems like he really has a bone to pick with him. I love the UFC and I think Dana definitely has been great for the UFC and its growth. Maybe he is a slimeball and a jerk, he could be. But the UFC has thrived under his leadership, that cannot be debated.
9:32 am on April 12th, 2009
Too many UFC wack job fan boys here. Good grief. Good follow up Brooks. Thanks.
9:36 am on April 12th, 2009
The term media and Brooks are very loosely associated…Brooks is a blood sucker knock off of Deadspin and TMZ…
Entertaining? Perhaps. Worthwhile? Questionable.
Bottom line is many of us use the term faggot to indicate weakness or distaste. It has nothing to do with the gay community, which if you listen to the gays, the hetero community is finding ways at every turn to ridicule and persecute.
Earth to the homos…we think about you only when you draw attention to yourself. When there are only 10% at most of you, why do you expect to get 50% of the attention? Unreasonable.
Get over this story, Dana hates that lady, not gays. Quit using every slur as a platform. Please evaluate the context.
If gays hate the word faggot, then why take such ownership? Much the same way the black community has taken ownership of the n-word.
The only way language can be made less hurtful is to de-sensitize…get used to it.
9:39 am on April 12th, 2009
"But the UFC has thrived under his leadership, that cannot be debated."
Um… the "sport" is just picking up steam because as the crazy concept of popularity over time perseveres more and more wannabe jarheads wanna take a few swings and grapple each other on the ground for 15 minutes. White has little to nothing to do with the increased popularity. Any shoe in could've done this job. That's what really cannot be debated.
9:51 am on April 12th, 2009
Chuck… I don't believe you actually grasp the first thing about journalism–it's built on opinions. Like the New York Times, LA Times, and The Boston Globe cover the same stories with different perspectives and witicism, it all depends on the author. Surely, on this impressive worldwide web of ours there's room for three satirical sports blogs. I hear the information super highway is getting bigger and stuffed with millions of other people's opinions each second! Wowzas.
So if you prefer Deadspin and TMZ so much, why the hell are you here?
10:36 am on April 12th, 2009
Fact is White was ranting about the reporter, he wasn't delivering a 'hate speech'
if that really is brook's position i look forward to a re-write of the anna rawson story to reflect his outrage, as fell as picking up the fact that well known f*g dropper lil wayne has his own espn blog.
let the pro-gay outrage flow. that is what this is about right?
10:44 am on April 12th, 2009
Dana White is a hate-filled idiot. MMA is a joke sport. Bread and circuses anyone?
10:59 am on April 12th, 2009
oh and in a country where people watch freaking nascar, and roid ball is the national passtime; calling the best kickboxing, jiu-jitsu and wrestling practitioners a 'joke' is beyond irony.
but at least own up to the fact this article is anti-ufc and stop pretending you care about gay people.
2:46 pm on April 12th, 2009
Chuck is a faggot.
10:08 pm on April 12th, 2009
Brooks has consistently shown that he doesn't have a real understanding of MMA as a sport. It's very disappointing to see the sport portrayed in such a negative light, what is the vendetta against MMA? Either spend some time so that you understand what you're covering, or stop blindly bashing it and let the other bloggers on this site cover it.
MMA is a complex mix of wrestling, kickboxing, jiu jitsu, and other styles, and the diverse skillsets take years of training to master. Consistently insinuating that the sport is for savages, not even a "sport" and requires little skill only shows how little you understand it. That is the equivalent to saying baseball is just hitting a ball with a stick, or basketball is just throwing a ball through a hoop.
One post you're calling White a hatemonger, the next post you're calling UFC fans stupid, inbred, rednecks, hillbillies etc. That may be an image of the fanbase that stands out, but rest assured there are plenty of intelligent fans drawn to the sport because of its complex strategy and the incredible athleticism on display. I don't want to read a sports blog that insults me because of the sports I like.
Sure, White is a foul-mouthed idiot, everyone who has followed the sport knows this, but that doesn't excuse the consistent posts bashing the sport and its fans.
11:30 pm on April 12th, 2009
Steve, you're a joke.
7:52 pm on April 13th, 2009
Strong rebuttal, you know who. I suppose you did respond with your entire understanding of the sport.
btw, whether you realize it or not, White has done a great job building up the UFC. If any shoe-in could do the job, why did PRIDE Fighting Championship collapse? Why did Gary Shaw lose millions with EliteXC? Why is Affliction losing hundreds of thousands of dollars with each show? Why was the UFC bankrupt and for sale until White and the Fertitta's took over? I personally can't stand White (like many MMA fans), but if you try to discount what he's accomplished you only show your ignorance.
12:16 am on April 15th, 2009
So he bankrolled it. Wow… impressive strategy.
2:38 pm on August 28th, 2009
MMA is not exactly a ‘mix of martial arts’. I’d much rather watch a martial arts tourni or demonstration to see some kick ass karate. Most of what I see on Ultimate is awkward and unrefined. GSP has some pretty wicked moves happening, but he’s still only in there to beat his opponent to a pulp. Are there even any points? The only technical stuff I ever see in the octagon ends up being on the ground. Even then, messy and awkward all over again. I appreciate roman greco as well, but only once in 4 years. Small doses. I need not see this every month. When you mash together this many different styles, it doesn’t look like a sport anymore. If the point is to beat each other up really hard, thats just called fighting. It has only really become a sport in the past when it’s been constrained to a real style. Why now does beating each other up become a ‘real’ sport? It’s unrefined and too lose to be anything more than a passing fad. 10 years from now, i’ll still be watching hockey. I doubt ultimate fighter will still be on spike.
Why the vendetta against reporting on pertinent events? Brooks has all the right to write about Dana and all the UFC and express his opinions. Why? Because they’re valid. Like most people who think the culture that follows UFC is a sesspool of testosterone left in the sun too long, we think it’s the people that make the sport and the fans involved are very questionable.
2:39 pm on August 28th, 2009
ps. more girl photos
2:43 pm on August 28th, 2009
Here’s somethign for discussion. To those claiming the ’sport’ is filled with ’strategy’ then go on to slag on nascar. I’m no nascar fan, although I postulate that it takes more strategic thinking to keep one of those on the track, not even getting to the front of the pack, then it does to move your head out of the way. The reason it looks like they’re thinking so hard in the UFC, is because of the concussions.