Dustin Poirier says he is not looking for sympathy following his public drunkenness arrest at Atlanta’s airport, accepting full responsibility for his actions while revealing he has deleted all social media apps from his phone in the aftermath.
Poirier spoke on The Diary of a CEO podcast with Steven Bartlett, learning about the support from fellow fighters second-hand through a friend.
My buddy, Kyle, the guy who I work out with every day, he told me that Jon Jones came out and said something, and it was positive. He said Matt Brown, as well, a former fighter, did a video, and it was really nice. I appreciate everybody, but I’m not looking for sympathy or to make this okay. It’s not okay. I don’t wanna blame anything or have a crutch to lean on about my actions. I did it. I’m not blaming it on mental health or anything like that, even though I’m focusing on that now. I did that. I decided to drink that day when I wasn’t feeling well. It’s all on me.
Poirier also revealed the emotional trigger behind the incident — Father’s Day thoughts about his homeless, estranged alcoholic father.
On Father’s Day, I was traveling to work, and I just couldn’t stop thinking about my father, and I started drinking at the airport, and that’s what led to the incident. I’ve been going to therapy and stuff like that. Years ago, I started going to therapy and when I started feeling better, I stopped practicing everything I learned through therapy. Alcohol has never benefited me, especially in times like that where I’m mentally not the best.
He said he has not watched his arrest video and has done everything possible to avoid seeing it or the reactions to it.
