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UFC's Andrea Lee issues second apology over husband's Nazi tattoos

Andrea Lee after her first UFC victory. (Getty)
Andrea Lee after her first UFC victory. (Getty)

So, look: you can argue about whether America in 2018 is too touchy, is too quick to take offense at perceived slights. But even in the burn-it-all-down world of today, you can’t get away with calling people who are upset by Nazi tattoos “sensitive-ass mofos.”

The backstory: newly-minted UFC fighter Andrea Lee shared an image of herself and her husband Donny Aaron enjoying themselves on a lake. All was well until someone noticed the Nazi tattoos on Aaron’s arms, including a swastika and an SS logo:

Via Instagram/@andreakgblee
Via Instagram/@andreakgblee

The backlash came fast and furious. Lee fired off an immediate response to critics that, well, didn’t go over so well: “Neither one of us are racists, we have an Asian & a black guy that live with us! Oh my gosh guys it’s a tattoo he got when he was in prison, get over yourelves. He covers them up all the time & we happen to have a lake day and it makes an appearance. Sensitive ass mofos.”

Yeah, the “some of my best friends are [minority]” defense is never a winner, and while you can get away with calling someone a sensitive-ass mofo if they’re upset about, oh, getting the wrong name scrawled on their Starbucks cup, you can’t really play that card when it comes to, you know, Nazi symbols.

Meanwhile, Aaron issued a long apology on Twitter, noting that he got the tattoos while in prison but is a changed man:

“It’s with certainty that I can promise you that she didn’t marry a racist,” Aaron wrote. “When Andrea and I met, I had already began to reinvent my life and if she’d seen any racist behavior or attitude she’d have never given me the time of day. … Please don’t let your hatred over me bleed into hatred toward Andrea. If you have to hate someone then please hate me. She doesn’t deserve it. She is genuinely the best person I know.”

So Lee took a second shot at apologizing for popping off, and this one was a bit more market-tested:

“My comments the day before were meant to just defend my husband not his tattoo. I never intended to make light of the situation, the history of the symbol or dismiss anyone that was offended, This mistakes he made in his youth are not a representation of who he is today, which is a man that loves and respects everyone. Donny was my coach long before we got together, when I first met Donny, I question him too about his tattoos and he explained to me about his past and who he was now and how he’d changed. The more I got to know him as a person the less I noticed his skin.

“I’m truly sorry for responding the other day the way I did, if you think I don’t I DO! I’m not racist, I’m not a nazi and I don’t hate people and neither does Donny.

“I’ve always believed in the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you, I personally try to live by that and I tell my daughter that all the time. I Also don’t believe in hating a person for things they have done to you or things have done, Period, If I don’t like someone. I never ever say that I hate people or a person, if anything I just extremely dislike a person, but never hate.

“I’m the type of person to help anyone out no matter the color of their skin or the religion they believe in, I don’t judge people based off a single thing or action or because of what someone else said about them, I choke to get to know them first and then make my own person opinion, that’s how I am that’s who I have always been.

“So I am sorry if I offended anyone, I apologize, please forgive me.”
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.

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