Dana White
Dana White, the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championships, caught a lot of justified heat in 2009 when he called a journalist a "f—ing faggot" on a video blog. His initial apology rang sort of hollow, but he is trying again. Fuel TV's Ariel Helwani asked White to name any regrets from his 12 years of running UFC. White first said he had none, then said:
“You guys have to understand this, but this is the way I am. I have no regrets. The only thing that I regret is in that video blog when I used the F word. And I mean that. That’s the only thing throughout the 12 years of running the UFC. The way I came off in that thing, people still think I’m some kind of homophobe, which I’m not. … It’s still the only thing that bothers me.”
Dana White
Dana White, the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championships, caught a lot of justified heat in 2009 when he called a journalist a “f—ing faggot” on a video blog. His initial apology rang sort of hollow, but he is trying again. Fuel TV’s Ariel Helwani asked White to name any regrets from his 12 years of running UFC. White first said he had none, then said:
“You guys have to understand this, but this is the way I am. I have no regrets. The only thing that I regret is in that video blog when I used the F word. And I mean that. That’s the only thing throughout the 12 years of running the UFC. The way I came off in that thing, people still think I’m some kind of homophobe, which I’m not. … It’s still the only thing that bothers me.”
White seems sincere and it’s not like it seemed he was waiting for the question. Maybe he does get it. White has had a mixed bag in the area of gay issues. White has said the sport would embrace an openly gay fighter and encouraged one to come out, and at the same time freaked out over a fighter wearing a Speedo. At the same time, a veterans group affiliated with a union battling White petitioned the Marines Corps to cut ties with the UFC over what it called homophobia, sexism and racism in the sport.
UFC fighter Liz Carmouche, openly lesbian, told Dave Doyle of SI.com about White:
“I honestly don’t think he cares, it doesn’t matter to him,” Carmouche said. “He wants a fighter who goes out and fights and that’s the biggest thing for him. I don’t think he cares if you’re gay, straight, bi, black, white, Asian, doesn’t matter to him. He just wants a fighter who isn’t afraid to fight and who brings in tickets.”
White’s regret comment:
