"They're just stealing money" - Joe Rogan slams Olympics for athlete pay, compares NBA, UFC, NFL
Joe Rogan has always had his gripe with the Olympic Games for its abysmal pay for the athletes. In light of the plethora of controversy the Paris Olympics has generated, the UFC sportscaster has now vehemently reaffirmed his dislike for the event.
During the #161st MMA Show of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, he told surging UFC light heavyweight contender Khalil Rountree, that the Games were a scam.
The 56-year-old stated that the organizers were the sole beneficiaries of the revenue generated from the competitions and very little of it trickled down to the athletes competing or the community where the games were being held:
"They go to places like Brazil [and]... build this f*****g enormous place to participate in. All the different arenas... and then after that, nothing. And all the people who are poor are like, 'where the f**k did this money come from and why didn't you just spend it on the community'... Bizzare."
Catch Joe Rogan's comments below (0:40 and 8:30):
Furthermore, the MMA commenter doubled down on his point, claiming that unlike in other popular sporting leagues and organizations, the revenue generated by the Olympics was not at all being shared with the participating athletes:
"They are just stealing, they are just stealing money. Imagine if that was the case with the NBA or the NFL or UFC. Imagine if the athletes got zero money and everyone else is driving around in Rolls Royces and living in a mansion. It'd be crazy."
Catch the full Joe Rogan Experience episode below:
Joe Rogan blasts Olympic boxer who failed gender eligibility test
Joe Rogan is one of the harshest critics of trans women competing against their cisgender counterparts in sports. Algerian boxer Imane Khelif competing in the women's division at the ongoing Paris Olympics has particularly riled up the podcaster.
For context, Khelif was disqualified from last year's World Championships after failing a gender eligibility test, which prevented athletes with an XY chromosome from participating in women's categories.
According to a report by Hindustan Times, Khelif suffers from a condition called DSD (Difference of Sexual Development). People with this condition have male-like testosterone levels and an XY chromosome as opposed to an XX chromosome that cis women have.
Responding to the boxer's 46-second win over Italy's Angela Carini at the Olympic games, Rogan said:
"There is outrage all over the place, about this one particular person that they are talking there that did test for an XY chromosome, that's a man. I know it sounds horrible to miss gender someone and all that good stuff, all that's great until you want to fight women."