Toronto man says he was bullied by Dana White on Twitter
At Wednesday's press conference for the UFC on Fox 2, Dana White was asked about a code of conduct for fighters on Twitter. This was before he cut Miguel Torres for making a tasteless remark about rape.
He said that the UFC teaches fighters about using social media at the yearly Fighters' Summit.
"We bring guys in and we do the UFC summit. We go through everything with them. I don't know if you've seen me on Twitter. Maybe someone should teach me a code of ethics," White said.
After getting a reply from White, a Toronto man would likely agree. The Toronto Star reports that when Darius Ross objected to a tweet where White told a fan, "I hope you get kicked in the nuts," White called Ross a crybaby. This is the exchange that followed:
White then tweeted: "Then why do you follow me? Hide ur children crybaby!!! I will be in Toronto in two hours!!!'' [...]
Ross then tweeted: "Should I consider that a threat?"
White responded: "omfg, lol, u are weird."
After that exchange, several of White's followers tweeted Ross derogatory remarks. Ross said that he felt like he was being bullied, something that the UFC is working to combat in the schools of Toronto.
"How do you square that kind of banter from the public face of UFC with taking a moral high ground position, standing on a podium and lecturing kids on how to behave? I just don't see how the UFC can lecture kids on bullying when bullying seems to be such an intimate part of MMA (mixed martial arts) fan culture."
MMA Fighting made a convincing argument for the need of a comprehensive policy for fighters so that they know what is across the line before they lose their jobs. In addition to clarity, the fighters also need good leadership from White. When they take their cues from him and he skates so close to the line, it's not a surprise when his fighters cross it.
