Sean O'Malley not happy with MMA media twisting his words about Dana White slapping his wife
Sean O'Malley never said Dana White was justified in hitting his wife back on New Year's Eve. However, he did say that he understood why the UFC president might have had a reaction to his wife slapping him first.
Speaking on his BroMalley show, 'Sugar' said:
"I would assume sober, no drinks, she slaps him, I don't think his initial reaction is to slap back. When that alcohol's flowing, I've never hit a girl, but I've been blacked out, and I've done things that I can't believe I've done... I don't think it was right. Obviously, you should not hit, especially a little girl like that. But alcohol is flowing, and she hit him first."
Here's the video:
In matters that are this controversial and involve such high-profile personalities, comments can get easily misinterpreted and twisted in the media.
Sean O'Malley: Dana White's wife deserved to be slapped back mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/01/sean-o…
After several MMA media outlets reported on Sean O'Malley's comments, the UFC featherweight expressed his discontent with a tweet under one of the articles.
@MMAJunkie Fuck @MMAJunkie
He also retweeted a number of fans calling out MMA Junkie for taking words out of context.
@MMAJunkie @MMAJunkie new low for you guys here. Completely out of context and misleading. Embarrassment.
Some fans demanded that the outlet be 'canceled.'
@MMAJunkie Let’s get cancel culture behind getting mmajunkie cancelled sounds good to me
Others called out on their "terrible reporting."
@MMAJunkie Y’all can’t wait to take something outta context. Terrible reporting
Despite such strong reactions from O'Malley and his fans, one cannot deny the neutral stance most of the MMA community took on the matter. Many television and podcast personalities like Stephen A. Smith have been mellow in their responses, while others like Joe Rogan have remained quiet so far.
Andy Nesbitt of USA Today, which happens to be MMA Junkie's parent company, reached out to UFC's parent company, Endeavor, for a statement. As per Nesbitt's report, the company's senior vice president of corporate communications, Maura McGreevy, stated that Endeavor has officially "declined to comment" on the matter.
In comparison, veteran journalists like Ariel Helwani, Luke Thomas and MMA Junkie's John Morgan have put forward strong opinions against Dana White's actions.
@redcarddads @NoLayUpRule Dana f-cked up. Plain and simple. No excuses whatsoever for behavior, which he admitted. I'm not of the mind that means he needs to step down as UFC president, but clearly he was in the wrong here, and I hope his family is able to move forward and this does not become a pattern.
Could the UFC-ESPN partnership compromise Dana White coverage?
In the aftermath of the incident, the biggest question in MMA Media was how ESPN would cover the situation. They are not only a sports media juggernaut in the business but also the broadcasting partners of the promotion.
They provided a curt statement to BloodyElbow that could barely be considered holding anybody accountable:
“UFC comms can best help you on your inquiry. Reminder: ESPN does the distribution and UFC produces the content."
Former ESPN host Dan Le Batard suggested on his podcast that ESPN was the outlet most capable of applying mainstream media pressure on the situation, but were possibly compromised because of their business relationship with the UFC and Dana White.
Another ESPN employee, Jeff Wagenheim, tweeted that they have explicit orders not to write "incendiary" comments about anything, including the Dana White situation.
We've been told to not write anything incendiary on social media about the Dana White situation, and I understand why and have abided by that. I just ask y'all to understand that some of us at ESPN do not have as soft a take as this on domestic violence. twitter.com/awfulannouncin…
Wagenheim wrote in a follow-up tweet:
Clarification: There was no edict from ESPN bosses regarding the White situation, but in general we are strongly discouraged from incendiary posts on social media, and with a business partner things are sensitive. My bad on the wording. (The thought that follows still stands.) twitter.com/jeffwagenheim/…
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