The UFC Code of Conduct could not Have Come Sooner
By Christopher Jester
Without going into a huge tirade of what caused the UFC to finally release a Code of Conduct, let’s just put this simply: it is about time. The ridiculous nature of some things UFC fighters have gotten away with is borderline unforgiving. Whether it is Forrest Griffin poorly thought-out jokes about rape or Matt Mitrione’s recent harsh words against the transgendered fighter Fallon Fox, the UFC should not have had to wait until something like this to happen to create a Code of Conduct for its fighters.
April 10th, Yahoo! journalist Kevin Iole wrote a piece about the UFC’s Code of Conduct and included the official document as well. The full article can be viewed HERE. The document opens up with a rather broad statement that says:
“Fighters shall conduct themselves in accordance with commonly accepted standards of decency, social convention, and morals, and fighters will not commit any act or become involved in any situation or occurrence or make any statement which will reflect negatively upon or bring disrepute, contempt, scandal, ridicule or disdain to the fighter or the UFC.”
The document further discusses that its fighters should avoid using insulting language or actions towards an individual’s “ethic background, heritage, color, race, national origin, age, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation”. It further emphasizes that any unfitting social statements should not be made. This immediately taps into the recent ‘Meathead’ Mitrione situation and with scenarios that occurred with former UFC fighter Miguel Torres.
The point is, the UFC is trying to mitigate risks to its organization’s growing popularity and the ability to continue to put on events. It nearly states this in the document, and the only surmise from that is the UFC’s brass believes such incidents could harm the prospect of the UFC being sanctioned in certain states like New York; which the UFC has been clamoring to become sanctioned in for years.
Is this new Code of Conduct harsh? No. Fighters should be treated like any other employee of an organization. They are a representation of the company they work for, and should be held accountable for their actions; even if those actions lead to their eventual suspension or release from the UFC. Perhaps this Code of Conduct will light a fire underneath these fighters to better conduct themselves when outside of the Octagon and in some instances inside the Octagon as the Code of Conduct points out that disciplinary actions will be taken to those who face athletic commision offenses based on performance-enhancing drugs or other banned substances.
The only issue that still may arise is how this will affect other employees of the UFC. Currently the Code of Conduct is specified for the fighters, but it should not be limited to just its fighters. Other employees like Joe Rogan should fall under a Code of Conduct as well. Even UFC President Dana White, who has had his own issues with conduct and with issuing insulting comments to individuals, should find himself placed under this Code of Conduct or at least one similar. It should not be limited to just fighters, as other employees immoral actions could just as easily damage the reputation of the UFC.
Unlike where Dana White said UFC fighters should not do post-fight interviews, the stance should be that UFC fighters should not empty out a can of worms about a topic that has very little to do with them or wasn’t asked about. In fact, post-fight interviews are a great way to build up a fighter’s brand. It is ludicrous to say that fighters should not do interviews just because of this sort of incident happening. UFC fighters should simply be more adequate in conducting themselves when attending to these interviews.
At the end of the day, this has been a public relations nightmare for the UFC. It has very little to do with whether fighters should do interviews or stay off of Twitter and other social networks. It has all to do with the fact that fighters and employees of the UFC should learn how to better conduct themselves. The Code of Conduct was inevitable anyway, and was very much needed after so many other incidents had occurred. The reality is that these fighters need to start hiring public relation managers to help steer them away from saying and doing embarrassing actions that are going to get them in trouble with their employers. With the UFC under so much public scrutiny, the mystique of the UFC should center on correcting this mistake immediately and the Code of Conduct is the first step in the right direction.
Follow Christopher “sLapDatSuCKa” Jester on Twitter @sLapDatSuCka
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