UFC president Dana White has been quiet since talking to TMZ on Monday about the video that emerged over the holiday weekend of White hitting his wife, Anne, at a nightclub in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, but his words from 2014 on domestic abuse have since resurfaced and they should have an impact on his future with the fight company.
White went on Fox Sports Live in September of 2014 and spoke about the video of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice hitting his then fiancee which led to his suspension from the NFL.
Here is what White had to say about what should happen when a man puts his hands on a woman.
From MMAFighting.com:
“There’s one thing that you never bounce back from, and that’s putting your hands on a woman. Been that way in the UFC since we started here. You don’t bounce back from putting your hands on a woman.”
It feels like that isn’t the case with the UFC, however, as White hasn’t been punished and the owners of the UFC, WME/Endeavor, haven’t responded to multiple emails from FTW looking for a public comment on a CEO of a business that they own hitting a woman twice in public.
There was this from that same interview in 2014:
“It’s a tough one,” White said on FOX Sports Live. “First of all, the video is horrifying. Absolutely horrifying. You’re talking about a guy who’s been in the fight business since he was 19 years old. It is the most disturbing thing you will ever see. The thing that’s just as bad as the punch is that he shows no remorse after he does it. You know, if you did something in anger and you go, ‘Oh my god. What did I do?’ There’s none of that with this guy. I don’t know all the ins and outs of what Roger Goodell did or knew, or how it was handled, but it’s definitely bad. I can tell you this: I wouldn’t want to be Roger Goodell.”
White’s video was horrifying, too, and I’m stunned no other companies that are in business with White, including ESPN and TBS, have said anything about this yet.
What White said in 2014 speaks volumes now and it should lead to a severe punishment.
Sadly, though, it seems like all the powers that be are just going to remain quiet.