MMA News Forums - Ronda Rousey tweets video claiming Sandy Hook shootings were government conspiracy

Ronda Rousey tweets 'interesting' video claiming Sandy Hook shootings were government conspiracy (Updated) - Bloody Elbow

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UFC Women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is known for her rather strong opinions on just about any topic, and this one is no different. Today Rousey tweeted what she stated to be an "interesting" video on Youtube. That video turned out to be a 30 minute clip suggesting that the recent Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, CT was a government conspiracy.

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Ronda Rousey@RondaRousey
Extremely interesting must watch video youtube.com/watch?v=Wx9GxX…

She has neither deleted her tweet nor put in any further comment beyond telling someone that "criticism is always expected," but this doesn't appear to be a good look for the face of women's MMA and one wonders if it will have any impact on her mainstream appeal or if any sponsors will rethink their relationship with her going forward.

Rousey's next fight is the main event of UFC 157, as she takes on Liz Carmouche in the first ever women's MMA fight in UFC history.

UPDATE AT 4:23 PM ET: This was her follow-up tweet just minutes ago.

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Bloodstain Lane@BloodstainLane
15 Jan 13
@RondaRousey ...glad to see you are free thinker unlike these other ROBOT athletes

Ronda Rousey
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@RondaRousey
@BloodstainLane thanks, I just figure asking questions and doing research is more patriotic than blindly accepting what you're told
15 Jan 13 ReplyRetweetFavorite

UPDATE AT 6:32 PM ET: Rousey has since removed the original tweet from her timeline.

UPDATE AT 7:18 PM ET: UFC Welterweight Jon Fitch also retweeted the video with probably a more PR responsible lead-in:

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Is this real? Sandy Hook a hoax or just crazy talk?

Additionally, the issues brought up by the video in question have all been addressed by Snopes.com, a well known site that addresses urban myths and rumors of all varieties.

Ronda Rousey's manager addresses Rousey's 'Sandy Hook shooting' tweet - Bloody Elbow

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Yesterday we told you about UFC women's bantamweight Ronda Rousey tweeting an "interesting" video claiming the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was a government conspiracy. Rousey has since deleted the original tweet where she includes the link. Today her manager Darin Harvey did some damage control on the situation. Via MMA Junkie:

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"Ronda's the kind of person that doesn't take everything at face value, and doesn't have 100 percent faith in all the news that's put out there by the mainstream press,"

After Rousey posted the video link, she also tweeted I just figure asking questions and doing research is more patriotic than blindly accepting what you're told. That "research" quip seems timely given the Manti Te'o story.

Rousey herself stated on Twitter that she didn't intend to insult or hurt anyone:

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Ronda Rousey
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@RondaRousey
I never meant to insult or hurt anyone, sorry if anyone was offended. It was not my intention in the least. mmajunkie.com/news/2013/01/m…
16 Jan 13 ReplyRetweetFavorite

Harvey, who was obviously performing damage control for Rousey, added his own thoughts about the video:

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"I don't know if it's the truth or not. I'm not an investigator, but it seemed to me that if that Bushmaster (rifle) really was sitting in the trunk of a car, and the guy killed himself inside the school, how would the gun end up in the trunk of a car? Maybe it's just bulls--- facts. I didn't investigate it. I think Ronda thought it was interesting and retweeted it, and that was the extent of it. I don't think she was saying the mainstream press was wrong. It was just a different perspective."

I'm not a PR expert, but by not dismissing the video and separating him and Rousey from the "truthers", he didn't exactly improve the situation by giving an "I don't know" answer as far as the validity of the conspiracy presented in the video. Actually, he probably made things worse and now puts both of them in a negative light.

The article also notes that the UFC declined to comment on the story.