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[Sakara=Excitement]

Originally Posted by Duskseyr

It never ceases to amaze me the frenzy nerds will whip themselves into over 'perceived' affronts and the seeming belief that if they 'crusade' on the internets that they are somehow better than others or more mature.

Rampage Jackson is Rampage Jackson. What he does, shouldn't be shocking to anyone that has half a clue as to how he has ALWAYS handled himself in front of the media. When the time comes he will either pay dearly for these kind of antics or he won't, either way burning up a forum over it doesn't do anyone a damn bit of good.

I neither condemn nor defend his actions, but I sure as shit can't understand where all the cross bearing civil liberty warriors came from. Its MMA. Debate yer personal beliefs and political agendas elsewhere. IMHO.

Oh we are sorry. Thought this was a discussion forum. Everyone on here shall do your bidding to make sure you're comfortable with being here.

[jody]

I think he should be reprimanded very privately and sternly,that shit is pretty childish,and it certainly doesn't paint a great image for fighters.Who's to say any given woman Rampage decides to dry hump isn't some past rape victim?

See,a REAL man thinks before his actions,no matter what his intentions are,no matter what his stupid little public facade may be.

[Kimbo> Rampage]

Originally Posted by jody

I think he should be reprimanded very privately and sternly,that shit is pretty childish,and it certainly doesn't paint a great image for fighters.Who's to say any given woman Rampage decides to dry hump isn't some past rape victim?

See,a REAL man thinks before his actions,no matter what his intentions are,no matter what his stupid little public facade may be.

Calm down. its just rampage being himself.

Its funny to see so many people get all worked up, yet bryant isnt at all. I dont think he would do it unless he knew it would be cool.

[Cat--Smasher]

In 2007, as he was announcing new guidelines that would cover player conduct, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell spoke words that Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White needed to hear.

If he had heard them, former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson might not have sexually harassed a female reporter during an interview after UFC 130 on May 28 in Las Vegas.

If White had taken heed of Goodell’s dead-on-the-money words, his company would not have looked the other way when one of its fighters at UFC 127 repeatedly used a derogatory term used to describe homosexuals.

And, had White bothered to have thought about establishing personal guidelines for his employees, his highly popular television analyst, Joe Rogan, would not have referred to Yahoo! Sports mixed martial arts blogger Maggie Hendricks as a part of the female anatomy.

In announcing a suspension of Adam “Pacman” Jones in 2007, Goodell made clear that the league would no longer tolerate outrageous conduct by its players.

“It is important that the NFL be represented consistently by outstanding people as well as great football players, coaches, and staff,” Goodell said. “We hold ourselves to higher standards of responsible conduct because of what it means to be part of the National Football League. We have long had policies and programs designed to encourage responsible behavior, and this policy is a further step in ensuring that everyone who is part of the NFL meets that standard.”

Jackson miserably failed to meet any standard of decency when he put his face near reporter Karyn Bryant’s breasts following his win over Matt Hamill at UFC 130 on Saturday and said he would like to “motorboat” her. When Bryant told Jackson that she is partly of Jamaican descent, he responded by saying, “Well, Jamaican me horny.”

Apparently that’s the point where everyone was supposed to yuk it up and talk about what a funny guy old “Rampage” is. Except, it wasn’t funny, because it was the dictionary definition of sexual harassment. Instead of laughing, we should have been outraged.

Bryant brushed it off and insisted she wasn’t bothered by it, but the excuse that it was just “Rampage being Rampage” doesn’t cut it. Nor does it matter how Bryant felt, as the many Jackson apologists who have since posted on Internet bulletin boards have alleged. It is already difficult for women to compete on equal footing with men as sports writers and Jackson’s sexual overtones simply made it worse.

Bryant somehow managed to trivialize the situation when she later tweeted to Jackson that she is happily married and not looking for any “side action.” Then, almost unbelievably, she added, “If he sez I can creep tho I’ll holla”

This, though, is not and should not be about Bryant, who was the victim. It is about Jackson’s boorish behavior, about an out-of-control fighter having no boundaries and not being reeled in by an organization that is fighting desperately for mainstream acceptance.

There is little doubt that Jackson, whose off-the-cuff, irreverent humor has helped make him one of the world’s most popular fighters, was attempting to be funny and wasn’t trying to sexually harass Bryant. Words, though, have consequences and there are plenty of women journalists who are extremely uncomfortable being anywhere around Jackson given his history of making sexual overtures toward them, jokingly or not.

Zuffa, the company that owns both the UFC and Strikeforce, brought its more than 300 fighters to Las Vegas last month for its annual “Fighter Summit,” in which it takes a day-and-a-half to lecture them on the evils of steroids and drugs, to counsel them on financial matters and gambling, and to help them cope with a whole series of life issues they may face as newly minted celebrities. It’s a wonderful, thoughtful session that other companies ought to emulate.

Nothing, though, was on the agenda about sexual harassment, but if White and UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta are serious about making the UFC a mainstream outfit, it’s going to need to be.

Can one even begin to think of the furor there would have been had an NFL player acted similarly in a postgame interview on ESPN with Erin Andrews or Suzy Kolber?

Hendricks correctly called out Jackson on his outrageous and unacceptable behavior and, for that, was greeted with a torrent of abuse from a fan base which failed to see how Jackson’s “kidding” might create a hostile and uncomfortable work environment for a woman assigned to cover MMA.

Among those ridiculing her was Rogan, the color analyst on the UFC’s television broadcasts. Other than Fertitta and White, Rogan quite possibly has done more than anyone else to help make MMA mainstream, but he made a huge faux pas when he blasted Hendricks in a post on the popular forum, The Underground.

On Wednesday, Rogan used the C-word when describing Hendricks and her writing. Rogan wrote that Jackson is “not a [expletive] dentist, he’s a cage fighter … ” Writing specifically about Hendricks later in the post, he wrote, “I don’t think [Jackson] should be given a free pass for some of the questionable things he does, but I do think that this woman in question is all kinds of [expletive].”

Rogan made a sort-of apology on Thursday when he made another post on The Underground: “Never did I imagine that so many people would get their panties in a bunch about the use of the word [expletive] to describe a female blogger.”

He wrote that his use of the C-word was unfortunate and said he views it as “just another word for bitchy.”

By using the C-word, though, he undermined any credibility or authority he had on the subject and came across as a testosterone-filled teenager not to be taken seriously.

Rogan’s words were extraordinarily inappropriate, particularly as the very public mouthpiece of a billion-dollar company. The UFC needed to make a strong, public condemnation of Jackson’s behavior and Rogan’s choice of words, but has thus far failed to do so.

Instead, late Thursday UFC spokeswoman Caren Bell privately called Hendricks and issued an apology. And while it is commendable that the UFC offered any kind of apology at all, it was made privately at a time when Hendricks was under heavy siege publicly because she stood up for what was right. A public apology would have meant more and carried far more weight.

Bell also pointed out to Hendricks that Rogan, who failed to respond to a text message seeking comment, is an independent contractor and doesn’t speak for the UFC. It’s a similar point White made to Yahoo! Sports during a very brief interview about it late Thursday afternoon.

“Joe Rogan is an independent contractor and he wrote his opinion,” White said. “And you are free to write your opinion of Joe Rogan’s opinion.”

In this case, though, the opinions that counted were those of Fertitta and White and they chose to keep their thoughts to themselves. They can’t allow Rogan to host UFC weigh-ins, tape promotional materials and do television commentary on UFC fights and then so simply distance themselves from Rogan’s objectionable words.

Fertitta and White needed to make the point that Zuffa does not condone sexual harassment and that the UFC and Strikeforce welcomes reporters of both sexes and will guarantee them a safe, secure and non-threatening workplace. They also need to make it a priority to teach their fighters and those who work for them what sexual harassment is and stress that it won’t be tolerated.

UFC cannot condone sexual harassment - UFC - Yahoo! Sports

[jody]

Originally Posted by rampage9712

Calm down. its just rampage being himself.

Its funny to see so many people get all worked up, yet bryant isnt at all. I dont think he would do it unless he knew it would be cool.

I'm perfectly calm dude,this hardly effects me at all.BUT,your statement about Rampage being himself...So if next time he's 'being himself' and smashes his giant mountain of a vehicle into someone else,and let's say he kills someone next time.....Maybe the jury will let him off on account of he was being himself.In fact,maybe YOU can be his lawyer and tell everyone they just need to calm down.

Rampage is an ass,plain and simple.He shouldn't be putting hands on the reporters.He's not fucking 12,that's not even good game,which is what he's probably trying to run.

Also,Rampage lives in the real world,whether he remembers or not.He may very well do that stupid shit at a club one night and end up with a knife or bullet in his ass,so he might truly reconsider 'being himself.'

EDIT:My apologies if calling the guy an ass constitutes fighter bashing,but it was an ass move,in my opinion.

[SwordofAres]

Originally Posted by Sakara=Excitement

Translation:

I swear UFC, I'm okay with all of this.

Originally Posted by Sakara=Excitement

And you know this how? Are you now Miss Cleo?

She said she was ok with it then she was ok with it. Who are you, I or anyone else to question her?

The Cagepotato Reporter said she wasnt ok with it then she wasn't. I don't care if she was smiling and laughing or not. She said it made her uncomfortable so he was over the line.

Anyone who says it ok because Rampage is just being Rampage is sugar coating the issue. That asian girl in the sports store was clearly uncomfortable. To me that was by far the worst of the videos.

[joeodd2]

I know one thing, when I watch those interviews, I just knew rampage didn't marry no Sista......cause He'd be on the news running down the street butt ass nakid with her chasing him in HIS bmw, squeezing off shots at his wanna be pimp ass.....

[Cat--Smasher]

Not that I am justifying any of 'Pages past actions but the old interviews where he is humping the Japanese reporters and the such.. I think people have to take into consideration he was more or less playing a character. Rampage has said in interviews he was being marketed as a homeless black man and was forbidden to smile during the Pride days...

[Sakara=Excitement]

Originally Posted by Cat--Smasher

Not that I am justifying any of 'Pages past actions but the old interviews where he is humping the Japanese reporters and the such.. I think people have to take into consideration he was more or less playing a character. Rampage has said in interviews he was being marketed as a homeless black man and was forbidden to smile during the Pride days...

Well that sure as hell isn't the case these days, lol.