Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Fire Joe Rogan
Note: due to its subject matter, this column contains language that many readers, as well as the author, consider offensive.
Update: SC's Joshua Duffy response to this column: Joe Rogan, Bad Words, and a Fractured Culture
Joe Rogan is the best color commentator in MMA. I know some people prefer Bas Rutten or Pat Miletich, but Rogan is my favorite. The UFC should suspend or fire him.
Rogan has never been someone who plays by the rules, and that's part of his appeal. But in recent months, Rogan has called fellow MMA journalist Tomas Ríos a homosexual slur, and fellow MMA journalist Maggie Hendricks "c*nty." The UFC, which employs Rogan on its broadcasts, so far doesn't seem to feel this is a problem.
Pardon me for stating the obvious, but those are two of the most offensive terms in the English language, with a long and ugly history of violence attached to them. This isn't just "sticks and stones" — those words are slurs targeted at two historically oppressed communities: women and gay men. I hate to pull the role model card, but a lot of people look up to Rogan, and I shudder to think how many posters on the UG have now incorporated “c*nty” into their vocabularies.
To call a woman any derivative of the word c*nt is to condone and perpetuate a term long associated with misogyny, legal oppression, and sexual assault. Few words are truly powerful today, but that is one of them, probably the most shocking word in the English language. I guess the UFC should just be glad Maggie isn’t black.
If something like this happened in a mainstream sport ... calling someone a f*ggot you can get away with, if your apology is good enough. Rogan's “apology” involved calling Ríos a c*cksucker. Seriously. Maybe that's funny if you have a warped sense of humor, but it's definitely not a compassionate or professional response from a grown man who's old enough to know better.
It's the latter concern — professionalism — that's most at issue right now. You can get away with calling someone a f*ggot, if your apology is good enough. But calling a female reporter c*nty? No way. Absolutely not. That gets a player suspended, a coach fired, and an announcer banned for life.
But that's in real sports. For all that we talk about mixed martial arts being the fastest-growing sport in the world, it doesn't attract a fraction of the coverage that football or baseball get. It's comparable more to MLS, or women's golf. MMA isn't on network television, and it's not on the front page of the sports section. Mixed martial arts is a great sport. But if the UFC wants to be taken seriously and reach its full potential, it needs to start acting like the grown-ups. Ironically, it would be a good sign for MMA if Rogan’s gay-baiting and woman-bashing were a bigger deal.
In its infancy, the UFC benefitted from its own outrageousness. But by now, the people who are drawn in by that sort of thing know about MMA. If the sport is to reach a wider audience, its executives can't condone the kind of hate language Rogan has been using. Again, let's not sugar-coat this or make excuses. There's a difference between calling someone an asshole and a f*ggot. One is mean and crude, but the other has a long association with hatred and violence, from schoolyard bullying to murder.
There’s a difference between calling someone a douchebag and calling a woman a c*nt. The second word has a long history of association with rape and repression. Those words are powerful, and that’s why Rogan chose them. Those terms are demeaning and threatening in a way that normal insults aren’t. That’s why most of us consider them unacceptable. And that’s why the UFC can’t tolerate this kind of behavior from someone who represents the company.
At the very least, the UFC should suspend Rogan. UFC President Dana White should sit him down and say, "Joe, I appreciate you sticking up for us and our fighters, but this kind of thing doesn't help anybody. We're trying to get MMA licensed in New York. We're negotiating a new TV deal for The Ultimate Fighter. This whole thing with Strikeforce and Showtime still needs to be settled. We're just starting to get mainstream sports coverage, and if it looks like we accept this kind of language, that really sets back our cause. I don't think you're a bad guy, but we have to act on this thing. Take the next few events off, come back for the show in Rio, and go easy on the really serious slurs.”
With White speaking, I’m sure there would be a lot more cussing in there, and probably a few more verbal bro-hugs, but something to that effect gets the idea across. Rogan is a smart guy, and he genuinely loves the sport. He’ll understand White’s position. I’m sure that Rogan wants MMA in New York, and on network television, and wants what’s good for the sport. If that means not breaking out George Carlin's seven dirty words every time someone disagrees with him, he’ll rein things in. And that’s not just good for MMA; it’s good for everyone.