I’m with Dana
By Josh Stein on Oct 11, 2008
For those of you who haven’t seen the video of Dana White talking about the investigation of Gary Shaw and EliteXC, you need to, because this is one of the straightest, most intelligent statements I’ve ever seen from Dana, and while he’s getting a lot of criticism for it, I’m going to put down, simply, why I agree with everything that he has to say.
Let me tell you, there are moments when I think that Dana White is a douchebag and a sleazeball promoter, but I will never accuse Dana White of being anything less than honest. People (even smart people) are saying that Gary Shaw should sue Dana over this.
Frankly, that’s a load of crap. The purpose of Dana’s attack wasn’t to attack Gary Shaw (though he did, and he should have), it was to explain why this is illegal, and all that Dana said was the same thing that many MMA commentators have been saying since the announcement of the investigation.
Why does it make a difference? Because he’s Dana White? That’s a double standard that, frankly, I find a little disgusting. Dana White doesn’t have the same agenda as the rest of us, that’s true, but to insinuate, and falsely, that he’s doing anything differently, or that he doesn’t have a right to comment on the situation simply because he’s a rival promoter is stupid.
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“..and rapper whatever the fuck your name is…Shaw Jr.” LOL
Dana is spot-on. EliteXC blundered by not offering a sub. bonus alongside the KO bonus. That’s all they had to do to avoid sending an obvious message that they prefer standups. It doesn’t really matter what the exact wording was that they used with Seth. By offering a KO bonus but not a sub. bonus, they were communicating the message that they wanted Seth to stand. In the excitement and pressure Seth was going through (with suddenly becoming a main event fighter against a new opponent), that’s the only way such a bonus could be interpreted—–”we want you to stand, and that’s ALL we want.”
As far as an investigation goes, it’s probably a moot point. EXC will be out of business by January. What they did is unethical and deplorable; but, depending on the exact words they used with Seth, it’s probably not illegal. EXC going out of business solves all the problems connected with this fiasco!
Fred, I’m with you. I originally didn’t expect it to be illegal, and I said so when the information came out. Still, the investigation has led me to reconsider that. I’m not sure if there’s any legal action that can be taken, but it’ll be nice to see it confirmed by the investigation.
Like you said, though, EXC won’t be around much longer anyway, and Shaw is flopping like a fish on the deck.