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Fox Sports: "Zach Arnold's Fight Opinion site is one of the best spots on the Web for thought-provoking MMA pieces."

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Jim Rome skewers Rashad Evans for Sandusky quip; Miguel Torres cut from UFC for rape remark

By Zach Arnold | December 8, 2011

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When your face is plastered next to Jerry Sandusky on national television, you know it’s not good news for your image. Jim Rome made sure to cement that point home after the comments Rashad Evans made yesterday in Chicago for the Fox presser to hype his fight against Phil Davis.

“You knew the Jerry Sandusky/Penn State scandal was going to get worse before it got any better and… it has. Much worse. With two more victims coming forward and alleging similarly horrific allegations of Sandusky abusing them as well, allegations of a victim being held captive in the basement and Sandusky’s wife ignoring his screams for help while she was upstairs. And besides Sandusky already being pretty much the worst guy ever, his attorney Joe Amendola continues to paint him as the victim.

‘How would you take it if you were facing the kind of charges he’s facing and your life’s work was helping kids? You’d be devastated.’

“Hey, Joe, he didn’t help kids — he ruined their lives. And it’s not a question of if but rather how many… allegedly. And he’s not devastated because his life’s work is being questioned — he’s devastated because he’s finally figured out that he might be the most hated man in America and that he’s going to spend the rest of his life behind bars. That’s why he’s devastated.

“And to you Penn State alums and students that are all worked up saying that my commentary on this story is damaging to your reputation and affecting your chances of getting a good job… let’s just say that Sandusky is not doing you any favors by continuing to rock the Nittany Lions colors every time he gets arrested. Good news is going forward he won’t be donning your blue & white. He’ll be in prison orange.

“I wish I could stand here and say this story couldn’t possibly get any worse but I can’t and unfortunately I know it probably will.

“Maybe it’s Twitter and maybe it’s the 24/7 news cycle but it’s rare in this era that an athlete can say something that actually still shocks me. UFC Light Heavyweight Rashad Evans, though, just did and not in a good way. Yesterday, the very same day that Sandusky was being arrested on additional charges of child molestation, Evans was sitting at a press conference in Chicago spitting Sandusky smack at his upcoming opponent Phil Davis. You see, Davis is a Penn State alum so maybe Suga thought he’d try to hit him where it hurts and put him to sleep with a Sandusky blast… but he should have just pulled that punch.

‘I guarantee you’re going to be the first one to take a shot because I’m going to put those hands on you worse than that dude did them other kids at Penn State.’

“Rashad, you’ve got to be kidding me. What is it, other than totally insensitive and just… dumb? Guys have run regrettable smack before. David Haye saying that his fight with Audley Harrison was going to be ‘as one-sided as gang rape’ immediate comes to mind but you, my man, might be the new standard bearer. Look, I get that these guys are in hype mode and the blood starts to flow at these pressers. I just don’t care. You can’t say you’re going to do to your opponent what Jerry Sandusky allegedly did to these kids. Not that I haven’t done this already 100 times before but memo to all athletes — there’s certain things you cannot ever talk junk about. Ever. Keep all references to 9/11 and Hitler out of your mouths and, I never thought I’d have to say it, but you can officially add Jerry Sandusky to that list as well. Look, I work in smack for a living. I put food on my family’s table with smack. Smack is the family business, so I know smack and that’s some of the worst smack I’ve ever heard.”

That embrace by UFC towards social media at their fighter summit is looking like one hell of a policy right now, isn’t it? Forrest Griffin wasn’t available for comment.

Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 45 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

45 Responses to “Jim Rome skewers Rashad Evans for Sandusky quip; Miguel Torres cut from UFC for rape remark”

  1. cutch says:

    Torres was just released for making a rape joke.

  2. Dave says:

    Torres quoted it’s always sunny in philadelphia…

    Forrest on the other hand made countless rape jokes and was given UFC’s ‘most creative use of twitter’ bonus.

  3. Jonathan says:

    Torres will be back in the UFC..just like Fitch was.

  4. edub says:

    Making an example out of a guy who is a lesser draw and will probably never be champ (again)…

    the ufc would never do that.

    Hypocrisy at its finest.

  5. Megatherium says:

    Good. People like Josh Gross have been screaming from their high horse for action on inappropriate speech and now a man has lost his job.

    Perfect. This needed to happen. The mma media ought to congratulate itself.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      And now Josh Gross is still complaining that the firing is unfair. The guy just wants to fire shots at Dana White.

      • Megatherium says:

        I don’t know about you, but I’m waiting with bated breath for the likes of Gross, Maggie Hendricks, and Sergio Non to commend Mr White for this bold action against the scourge that is inappropriate cagefighter speech.

  6. Norm says:

    A few questions and thoughts RE: the Miguel Torres Situation

    -It’s probably safe to assume he is done w/ ESPN?

    -Other than a promotional too, what is the appeal of a grown as man using Twitter?

    -When you have literally no control over your audience being provocative, witty, smarmy, ironic, etc is probably not a great idea when you have 140 characters or less to express an idea. This off color joking is something you do with friends that you know share that type of humor with. Even then it’s conversational and not committed to the internet for the world to see/read at anytime.

    -There definiately seems to be some hippocracy by Dana with how he’s handled Forrest and Rashad vs. Miguel. Miguel made an ill advised comment regarding a fictional TV show that’s primary vehicle is darkish humor. Rashad made light of a legit situation that’s affected innocent victims.

    -If Miguel was fighiting as exciting as he was 2 years would his firing still have occured?

  7. 45 Huddle says:

    Whether it was quote or not, the Miguel Torres comment was the worst of them all. And he is the most expendible.

    These fighters are acting beyond dumb with their twitter posts. I don’t care if it’s a quote…. It has no context. People are just going to read it as it is written.

    Personally, I don’t get offended by much. But if somebody had to be made an example of, it makes sense to do it to Torres.

    It’s easy to see why the other leagues just ban stuff like twitter now. It’s more of a headache then it’s worth.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      This also shows how Dana White can never win with a small group of fans. When he did nothing, they bashed him. Now that he fired somebody, they are bashing him.

      It’s a no win situation for him. Some people will just complain.

      • Strider says:

        This is all such B.S. What do people, and really it’s just the media – want? Should Rashad be fired, paying a fine, be taken off the Fox card? And what for? For making a dumbass comment after Davis said he has a glass chin? It’s really amazing to see people shocked at what to men, who are about to get into a cage and fight, will say to one another. And I can guarantee that if Dana White put in place some “code of conduct” and all the fighters started giving the same rehearsed answers like so many baseball, basketball, and football players – the media would then bitch that they are too PR/P.C. driven. And now he fires someone and they STILL bitch.

        MMA media and hardcore fans may not like this, but this thing isn’t college wrestling, the olympics, or some team sport. It’s a spectator, combat sport that is set up (in part) for entertainment. These guys aren’t politicians or leaders. Stop raising this thing and the fighters to some ultra high pedestal were they need to be perfect angels.

        Funny thing is Gross said on his twitter “We’re talking this garbage instead of fights”, well guess what Gross, your the one of the assholes who fanned the flames on this story so what do you expect?

    • 45 Huddle says:

      What Rome completely missed the mark on is that Phil Davis…. Since the scandal broke…. Defended the Penn State head football coach. That is where Rashad Evan’s comments were coming from. Not the smartest comments? Sure. But they were not just out of left field. Davis deserved some sort of backlash for his previous comments. Evans just took it too far.

      Unlike Torres who made date rape drug comment…. Which has no level of funny any way you look at it. There is no way you can explain that comment….. It’s just a sick comment.

      • RST says:

        “Which has no level of funny any way you look at it.”

        Oh I agree, I dont its always sunny in Philadelphia is funny at all.

        • 45 Huddle says:

          Some people are saying it’s not even from that show. Either way, there is a huge difference between making a comment as a rebuttal to being insulted by your opponent…. Compared to what Torres did, which was type something out and press send….

    • edub says:

      “Rape is the new missionary”

      Is just as bad as the rape van joke, that was actually a parody of one told on Always sunny in Philadelphia.

      IMO both are fireable offenses, but to claim one is worse than the other is splitting hairs.

      • 45 Huddle says:

        And: “Your mouth says no but my roofies say yes.” is far worse then either of them…. And torres also said that too….

        • edub says:

          No that’s not far worse than any of them. If were talking about no context then what Evans said is probably the worsed because he made a joke about a man raping children. If were talking context “Rape is the new missionary” is certainly as bad as anything Torres says.

          Were are mostly in agreement though if you look lower.

  8. Chris says:

    I agree with 45 Huddle on this one. The minute Rashad let that one fly I groaned, but I knew where the shot was coming from. And it was in the heat of the moment of talking trash to a future opponent. But I still didn’t find it as offensive as this quote by Phil Davis.

    I hate to see Joe Pa (Joe Paterno) removed because of this, he’s had such a long career and to have someone like him, ultimately, I suspect he’s going to be remembered for the way he left, under these circumstances and that’s really not fair. I think he did what he could,” Davis said about Paterno.

    “In jobs, we have protocol, and I think he followed protocol. Whether he agreed with decisions that were made, especially in a university job, you really don’t have control over what goes on. If you’re in a law enforcement position and your superior says let so and so go, you’ve got to follow your protocol. You can’t just go ‘this is the law and I want to play this the way I want to play it.'”

  9. david m says:

    All publicity is good publicity. Rashad’s name is being talked about a lot now, which makes him more valuable. Spare me the morality from ass clowns like Jim Rome; I kind of want to see him say that to Rashad’s face and then have Rashad do him like he did Liddell.

    • zheroen says:

      Or do what Chris Miller did to him.

      Rome is a hack of the lowest order…the last two sentences of his quote indicate as much. He seems to think he is the arbiter of what constitutes valid “smack” (what a stupid, obvious attempt at getting a word over in the people’s lexicon), and no one should dare cross any line that he sets for such. Fuck him.

      • zheroen says:

        Jim Everett rather than Chris Miller…my bad. I apparently got confused by the myriad of concussion-addled ’90s quarterbacks.

        • david m says:

          Amen. Jock sniffer who thinks because he peppers his vocabulary with quasi-cool words, that he is cool. No.

  10. RST says:

    jim rome is a putz.

    I remember before MMA got popular with TUF, the only couple of times that jim rome mentioned MMA was to trash it.

    True story, I remember it clearly.
    It was on his TV show.

    Now bloodyelbow is describing him as a “friend of the sport” (I dont care for bloodyelbow either).

    Yeah guys like jim rome are always your good ole buddy when your on top.

  11. zheroen says:

    You’d think Dana White would have given Miguel Torres a bonus for “most creative cross-promotion of an FX-family brand”. And yes, 45 Huddle, it is in fact a reference to It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia – anyone who watches the show would recognize it. Your pathetic “I heard it wasn’t even from the show” only serves to highlight your ignorance and predictable sniveling rush to Lord Dana’s defense.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      I’ve read online that it was the show. I’ve read that other people have said it’s not from the show and it’s from some show on Comedy Central. I don’t watch either, so I don’t know….

      The fact’s are simple in favor of what White did.

      1) Evans took his dig based on Davis firing the first shot. It was also based on Davis defending Penn State previously.

      2) Torres’s comments were out of left field and were pre-meditated.

      Huge difference.

      Now, if you want to talk about the difference in penalities between Forrest Griffin and Miguel Torres…. Then you have a MUCH better footing in the argument.

      But Griffin is like a unionized employee. He has guaranteed job security due to TUF 1. Torres does not. Is it fair? Not for Torres. But that’s the reality of life.

      • edub says:

        Completely agree with all of this. IMO Torres was just a “victim” of the lesser relationship with Zuffa, and being the most recent person to make a stupid comment.

        I say victim in quotes because he’s still the idiot that made the remark.

      • Zheroen says:

        The primary argument was highlighting the disparity in treatment between Torres and Griffin/Evans, hence the reference to a bonus for “most creative use of [etc.]”, as Forrest was given fucking BONUS MONEY long after he had been making jokes about rape on twitter. Not surprised you didn’t (or willfully refused to) pick up on that.

        • 45 Huddle says:

          Nobody made a comment about Forrest Griffin’s twitter comments until after he got the bonus. Only positive responses. Blaming the UFC for giving him a bonus, and then AFTER that he says something that offends people is stupid.

  12. zheroen says:

    The issue isn’t whether or not Dana took action – it’s whether or not he employs blatant favoritism when it comes to fair and even punishment. Dismissing a comment as “just a joke” and even defending someone for tweeting an “original” rape joke is the complete opposite end of the spectrum from firing someone for referencing a popular dark comedy. Surely even a one-track troglodyte can ascertain that side of the argument.

  13. Jim Allcorn says:

    VERY poor choice of a “comeback” by Evans during the presser, but taken in the context of Davis’s being an alumni & his stance on defending Paterno et al, it’s somewhat understandable. And, by all accounts, he realized the error of his ways & was suitably contrite when he was spoken to by White afterward.

    Torres however?
    C’mon, that was just plain ignorant & offensive. And, he obviously didn’t admit to any wrongdoing on his part & wasn’t the least bit sorry about it when spoken to by White. Seems like he might have even taken an attitude about it with the boss. So, f**k him.
    Let him continue his career elsewhere.

    Yeah, maybe it seems unfair given what did/didn’t occur with Griffen & Evans previously, but White was put between a rock & a hard place with the situation. So, he had to take action.
    As for the Torres firing being hypocritical as he’s not a big draw & his firing won’t have an impact on the UFC’s bottom line… Oh well. Perhaps it isn’t completely fair all things considered, but it happens every day, all over the world. Lesser valued employees are canned & made an example of in order to send a message to the rest of the employees. It’s just a fact of life.
    You can bet that the rest of Zuffa’s roster of fighters are paying attention now & will def. think twice before taking to Twitter or any other sort of public forum with attempts at “humor” like Torres’.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      I think that’s what people are missing here. It’s the intent behind the comments.

      Dana White talked about his conversation to Forrest Griffin a few weeks ago. The intent was not bad about his tweets.

      If Torres didn’t see the harm in the comments, that would easily explain the quick firings.

      • BadSchnucka says:

        Kind of trollng here…
        Obviously these guys have not had their families affected by rape. They should consider themselves lucky.

        I think it takes the fighter’s mystique and perceived toughness away when these guys open their mouths.

        Be silent. Look meaner.

        One word answers are always intimidating.
        Social media makes fighters look human, and I want to see monsters in the cage.
        Not dudes that think Twitter is cool. Twitter is for poseurs and insecure weiners. I’d like to think that the dudes I love to watch compete are not that.

  14. zheroen says:

    Dana White laughed at Rashad Evans’ Sandusky/Penn State reference. A real situation, that affected real kids. Torres’ ill-advised, in poor taste attempt at humor was a reference to a fictional sitcom on the same network as The Ultimate Fighter.

    http://youtu.be/8PrtGLIBNTE

    • 45 Huddle says:

      Davis had a Penn State comment coming his way. Everybody knew it, after the garbage he spewed about the coach.

      Evans just took it too far.

      I laughed as well.

      Are you telling me you haven’t told a Penn State joke in the last month? I’ve told a few and heard a lot more. It’s true, that what the guy did is sick. But guys typically joke about that sort of stuff.

      Torres’s comments…. Even if it’s a quote…. Were much more creepy and disturbing.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      And you do realize that the worst comment made by Torres isn’t the one that people keep bringing up…. It’s this one:

      “Your mouth says no but my roofies say yes.”

      I mean….. That’s 10 times worse then anything else Evans or Griffin have said.

      And then when Dana White talks to him, his response is that it’s a joke. WTF!! Are you stupid?

      He deserved to get fired.

      • Zheroen says:

        Joking about children being molested = funny, if target went to alma mater of a school that had a child molester as an assistant coach.

        Joking about date rape = OMG WHAT A VILE DISGUSTING HUMAN BEING.

        Yeah, that’s consistent.

        • 45 Huddle says:

          Phil Davis DEFENDED that coaching staff. Which is why that comment made sense. Rashad Evans just went too far with it. But anybody knew a Penn State comment was coming Davis’s way eventually from one of his opponents, and rightfully so.

          Very different then multiple posts about raping women, and then when talked to by the head of the company you fight for…. You show no remorse.

          Not even the same ballpark.

        • Zheroen says:

          You’re still saying that it’s equally okay for Rashad to make a joke at the expense of children who were molested just because Davis went to Penn State. “Rightfully so”, even. So anyone who has ever gone to Penn State or supported the school deserves child rape jokes thrown their way?

        • edub says:

          Nothing makes it ok (if you’re going by PC standards, which I don’t) for what Rashad said. It doesn’t matter that Phil defended Paterno. Making jokes about a case envolving an adult male raping little boys should be off limits (if you are trying to say making a joke about a rape van and roofies should be).

          The point here isn’t the disparity in the comments which some keep trying to point out. There is no big disparity. All are terrible in their own right. The biggest differences in the situations are Torres said it more recently, and he is less of a draw then Evans/Forrest.

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