<header class="header"> [h=1]UFC suspends Nate Diaz following tweet, manager unrepentant (updated)[/h] by Steven Marrocco on May 16, 2013 at 8:00 pm ET </header> UFC lightweight Nate Diaz is the latest fighter to violate the UFC's code of conduct, and the promotion has suspended him. Hours after Diaz wrote a derogatory term for a homosexual person on his official Twitter account, UFC President Dana White told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) the fighter would be fined and suspended – or possibly released from the promotion. He did not give a timeline for a decision. But late Thursday, UFC officials issued a statement to MMAjunkie.com saying Diaz had been suspended by the company. “We are very disappointed by Nate Diaz’s comments, which are in no way reflective of our organization," the statement read. "Nate is currently suspended pending internal investigation and we will provide further comment once the matter has been decided.” Diaz issued a pair of tweets Thursday in which he expressed sympathy for Pat Healy, who was docked $130,000 in bonus money after testing positive for marijuana, and attacked the fighter given $65,000 of the money, Bryan Caraway. "I feel bad for pat Healy that they took a innocent mans money and I think the guy who took the money is the biggest F-g in the world," Diaz wrote on Twitter. Healy submitted Jim Miller at UFC 159 this past month in Newark, N.J. But after his positive test, the win was overturned to a no contest. Earlier this year, the UFC instituted a formal code of conduct that bars fighters from using discriminatory or derogatory language. This past month, the promotion suspended and fined heavyweight Matt Mitrione for an offensive rant about transgendered fighter Fallon Fox, though the suspension lasted a mere three weeks before he was rebooked for another fight. Diaz's manager, Mike Kogan, told MMAjunkie.com he expected the UFC to take action, but as of a Thursday afternoon conversation with MMAjunkie.com had not spoken to anyone from the promotion. Kogan, however, defended Diaz's choice of words. He did not advise the fighter to delete the tweet and advised his Twitter followers to look up the meaning of the word "f-g" in the Urban Dictionary. "Nate voiced a personal opinion about an incident that took place involving Bryan Caraway in which he chased Dana all over Twitter to try to get a bonus, which was taken away from Pat Healy, got the bonus, and then had the nerve to go back out there and bash the guy and talk s--t about weed-smoking and how much he hates it and how it's wrong, which was, at best, a s--t move on his side," Kogan said. "Guess what? The word f----t, at least in Northern California, and where Nate is from, means bitch. It means you're a little punk. It has nothing to do with homosexuals at all. So when Nate made the comment that he made, he didn't make it in reference to homosexuals or calling Caraway a homosexual. He just said it was a bitch move." White has defended fighters such as Ronda Rousey for voicing controversial opinions, but has also blasted fighters for not exercising common sense in using social media. In 2011, the UFC released bantamweight Miguel Torres for tweeting a joke making light of rape, though it later reinstated the fighter after he apologized. Discussing Mitrione's suspension, White stressed that fighters were free to voice their opinion, but were subject to the consequences of their choice of words. "How people take it is beyond my control," said Kogan when asked whether fighters such as Diaz are held to a higher standard in their use of social media. "But that's what his intent was. And it was a bitch move, for the record. Pat Healy? It's not like Pat Healy is Georges St-Pierre and he could afford it. That was probably the most money he's ever made in his life. And because of something he did I'm pretty sure way before the fight ... it's not like he walked out into the cage with f---ing weed in his mouth. He got fined. He doesn't need somebody else dwelling over it. "I'm sure some people got offended, and hopefully this article will explain what his intent was. But how people view it is how people view it. I can't control that. His intent was not to make a derogatory term toward homosexuals. He used the word to refer to a punk or a bitch."
While I find political correctness disgusting, Diaz has to know the rules have changed and you are no longer allowed to say anything that will hurt someone's feelings. After what happened with Mitrione, you'd think he would've known better. Besides, everyone knows both Diaz brothers are fags anyway. TFK
I was legitimately interested to see which way you'd lean on this one. I was curious if your hatred for political correctness or your hatred for the Diaz brothers would win. It looks like the Diaz brother pull a little more hatred. Personally I think it was fucked up when Mitrione got blasted. I think it was fucked up when Mike Wallace had to apologize. And I think it's crap for Diaz as well. After Mitrione, the UFC had no choice with Diaz. But that just means they were wrong twice.
Pathetic. On the one hand you have Dana coming across like an amateurish, overgrown teenager, calling people pussies etc, and then they suspend someone for writing "fag" :atu: Make your fucking mind up, of what kind of image you want.
I think punishment for being unpolitically correct is stupid, but unfortunately, that is where we are right now. It's just like testing for pot. It may not make sense, but it's the rule. You may not agree with the rules, but you have to abide by them. Enough fighters have been disciplined already for stuff they've said, tweeted, etc., that Diaz needs to know you have to walk a fine line. Personally, Diaz calling Healy a fag doesn't bother me, because I don't see it as a slam against gays. Some words have more than one meaning. I don't think Diaz used it in a way to label Healy as a homosexual, but rather used fag to label Healy as lame. If we're out at a bar having a good time and a friend decides to leave early, someone's gonna call him a fag, even if he's leaving early to go bang some girl. No gay connection at all. But still, as foolish as it may seem, Diaz should know better. TFK
PEDs? Ummm. 20 day suspension. Fag? Ummm. Suspension. Pot? Ummmm. $65,000 fine, motherfuckers. FUCk the UFC. It's the first and third things that really piss me off, though. PEDs should be a devastating penalty. Pot should be a minimal, predetermined penalty. Name-calling with slurs, probably something similar to pot.
Thanks for the important clarification. My bad. Did the commission do the $65,000 penalty? That seems like it would be a UFC move, not a commission? If the UFC is going to jump into the penalty business, and I have no problem with them doing it, then they should probably strive to keep the penalties in line with the commissions', or increase the commissions' penalties, if appropriate, to keep things in line. In other words, I'm not giving the UFC a pass to let the commissions bitch out on PED penalties while they are playing the 'don't say slurs' card with harsher penalties.
Just to be clear, Diaz did not call Healy a fag. He called the person that took back Healy's Fight of The Night bonus a fag.
What $65,000 penalty? Do you mean Pat Healy losing his fight of the night and submission of the night bonuses? Fighters know beforehand that post fight bonuses are contingent on passing their drug tests. He knew going into this fight if he got caught for pot, not only would he be suspended, but he would be ineligible for any fight night bonuses. He ended up costing himself $130,000. TFK
[h=5]Nate Diaz has been suspended 90 days and fined $20,000 for his offensive Twitter message yesterday.[/h]
It wasn't meant to be anything other than illustrative of how light the penalty for PED use is, i.e. a non-penalty. Like Nate's penalty of 90 days. $20,000 is a harsher penalty unless Nate already had a fight lined. Who got the remaining $65,000 of the $130,000 that Healy was fucked out of. You can try to justify it since it was a known penalty, but come on. Common sense should tell you that such a draconian penalty is unwarranted and complete bullshit. He fucking won which makes it all the stupider.
So they should reward fighters for breaking the rules? I'm asking about Healy not Diaz. Diaz didnt break any rules.
The rules should make sense and have appropriate penalties. The rules about pot use barely make any sense and have inappropriate and draconian penalties.
UFC and other sports should stop testing for cannabis. It's clearly not a performance enhancer and it helps athletes to control pain and inflammation. It should be seen as traditional medicine rather than a PED or narcotic.
Couldn't agree more. Testing for cannabis is ridiculous. Is it true that they don't test for cannabis in the NBA?
As far as I know, nobody has been suspended in a while for cannabis use, anyway they never specify which kind of substance they found, they just write down "X player violated the NBA substance abuse policy. They do test, but their substance testing program is a joke. Many players on HGH and other shit (There are many stories and confessions about heavy cocaine use during the 80's and 90's) and the league just don't care or don't want to expose their stars.
