Dana White and UFC Need to Apologize
April 1, 2009 by Ted Rybka, GLAAD's Director of Sports Media
- Dana White, President of UFC
On Wednesday, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White unleashed a torrent of expletives, including an anti-gay slur, on his video blog hosted on YouTube. White was extremely angry over an article written by a journalist regarding the use of credentials at UFC events.
UFC, which is considered to be the largest Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organization in the world, has become extremely popular in recent years, and the organization’s fights and reality shows air regularly on Spike TV and pay-per-view.
In the video, White rants, “And here’s a quote from a guy who wanted to remain anonymous because of fear of repercussions. Shut the f**k up. Any f**king guy who won’t put his name on it. First of all, whoever gave you that quote is a pu**y and a f**king f**got and a f**king liar and everything else.” Although White doesn’t state the name of the article, based on the author’s name and the content he most likely was referring to this article on the sherdog website.
White’s remarks cross a line – it’s unacceptable for an industry professional at his level to trade in these kinds of defamatory, anti-gay slurs. White knows the impact of words. Early in the video, he instructs his fighters not to curse on television. And yet, later in the video he goes on to do exactly that. He is also aware of the impact that he has. The UFC’s – and White’s – primary audience is 18 – 34 year old men, and based on his own remarks about how editors can tell a story so the audience cares, he understands just how influential the words that he chooses can be for his audience.
Furthermore, as the leader behind a billion dollar empire, White is fully aware of the reach of his remarks 
- with the help of investors, he acquired the UFC in 2001 for $2 million. In 2006, revenues from pay-per-view hit over $200 million and Time Magazine estimates that the company is worth $1 billion. White knows that the success of UFC is a result of the support of fans, gay and straight alike (the sport itself also includes openly gay athletes – last year, Shad Smith was profiled in The New York Times).
We’ve reached out to White and the UFC and are calling on them to apologize to his fans for using the slur, and to remove the video from his site. Check back here for updates as we get them.
Click below to watch the full video. White’s rant starts at about the five minute mark.
free video player & video platform - interactive video, online video solution: video player, video editor - kaltura
wordpress video - wordpress plugin for integrated video on video blogs, and video tools
*UPDATE: The offending video has been removed from the UFC’s YouTube Channel. However, GLAAD is still working to speak with officials at UFC for an apology.
[...] Uh oh…. GLAAD is after Dana and the UFC Dana White and UFC Need to Apologize : glaadBLOG.org [...]
[...] 2nd, 2009 Following up on my first post, it looks like GLAAD has made a statement on its blog calling for Dana White to apologize for his remarks: White’s remarks cross a line – it’s unacceptable [...]
[...] GLAAD: Dana White & UFC need to apologize [...]
[...] against Loretta Hunt in which he referred to her anonymous source as a ‘faggot’, GLAAD is now trying to work towards securing an apology from the UFC and Dana White himself. White’s remarks cross a line – it’s unacceptable for an [...]
[...] By Eric- Found and posted the controversial slice of the video. All is well. Update: This didn’t take long- GLAAD is already calling for an apology from DW and the [...]
[...] has already taken UFC Fight Night 18 Video Blog off their Youtube page, but you can watch on the Glaad Blog. MMA Store | UFC Tickets | Get our Email [...]
[...] Posted by donttazemebro Dana White and UFC Need to Apologize : glaadBLOG.org the real question here is, why in the world would you be looking on a glaad website to find this [...]
[...] For one, it’s still up elsewhere, such as Break, and for another, word has spread. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (known commonly as GLAAD) has denounced White’s use of the word “faggots” to [...]
[...] Channel. However, GLAAD is still working to speak with officials at UFC for an apology. source: Dana White and UFC Need to Apologize : glaadBLOG.org Indicating the UFC is the face of MMA, this is an indication that Dana has given that face a black [...]
[...] remorse for a video blog posted April 1 in which he uttered misogynistic and anti-gay slurs (see here) and said he “never intended to hurt the gay community.” He will issue a new video on [...]
[...] demanded the UFC removed the video blog on their GLAADBlog.org as well as an [...]
[...] användande av nedvärderande ord (såsom “faggots”) har gjort att han fått “Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation” (GLAAD) i hasorna. UFC har tagit ner videon från sin YouTube sida (men inget försvinner [...]
[...] GLAAD: Dana White & UFC need to apologize [...]
[...] The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) was up in arms and asked for an apology from the 39-year-old president of the UFC: We’ve reached out to White and the UFC and are [...]
[...] was asked by a blogger for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) to apologize for misogynistic and anti-gay slu…. According tothe glaadBLOG, White has said he has "never intended to hurt the gay [...]
[...] D
[...] The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) was up in arms and asked for an apology from the 39-year-old president of the UFC: We’ve reached out to White and the UFC and are [...]
[...] GLAAD: Dana White & UFC need to apologize [...]
[...] evening GLAAD posted the offensive video and demanded an apology from White and the UFC. Yesterday, GLAAD announced [...]
[...] Word got out to GLAAD, who requested that White and UFC need to apologize for the remarks right away, accusing the UFC head honcho for using an “anti-gay slur.” (You can read GLAAD’s reaction here.) [...]
[...] being called out by GLAAD for his use of the word "faggot" in his rage-filled pre-"Condit vs. Kampmann" [...]
[...] dropping the “gay f-bomb”. Of course, the usual suspects went up in arms and demanded (and subsequently received) an apology. Of course, ESPN ran with the [...]
[...] boss Dana White, loudmouthed asshole that he is, immediately issued a knee-jerk reaction after the conclusion of last night’s highly-hyped [...]