UFC President Dana White has offered no apology for slapping his wife on New Years Eve. However, that hasn’t stopped MMA fans, UFC fighters and members of the media to provide justifications for White’s actions.
On Monday, TMZ published a video of White slapping his wife, Anne, while the couple was in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. TMZ also released an interview in which White spoke about the incident.
During the interview, reps for TMZ appeared to attempt to give White an excuse for his actions saying, “People who were in the club told us that, to them at least, it looked like there was had a lot of alcohol involved” in this situation.
To his credit, White didn’t take the bait thrown at him: “There was definitely a lot of alcohol involved, but that’s no excuse. I literally make no apologies for this thing,” White said. This has never happened before. This is the first time this has happened. People are going to say what they are going to say. It’s just what it is and whatever people say, it’s deserved, I deserve it.
Shortly after the video — and the interview with White — was posted, the MMA section on Reddit declined comment because “Discussing whether it’s okay for men to hit women n is not what this subreddit is about.”
The UFC has so many toxic fans that minutes after Dana White’s domestic violence video was released, the MMA section on Reddit had to ban comments about it because dozens of UFC fans were posting to how acceptable it was for men to hit women. pic.twitter.com/YGq5oZzWvp
— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) January 3, 2023
The most common refrain on social media from those seeking to justify White slapping his wife is that she hit him first, which ignores White’s statement to TMZ: “You heard me say for ages. years, there’s never, ever an excuse for a guy. lay hands on a woman.
A few current and former UFC fighters have weighed in on the matter, again offering an apology to White, which he himself hasn’t tried to rein in.
If you don’t want to be hit, don’t hit anyone!#Easy
– Jamahal Hill (@JamahalH) January 3, 2023
Was Dana White wrong, “YES”. Men shouldn’t hit women. Do I think that reflects who Dana White is, NO. Dana was one of the second chances. I think speaking against the topic and maybe missing two events is right! He admitted that he was wrong!
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) January 3, 2023
That’s why you shouldn’t drink alcohol.
— Kevin Lee MTP (@MoTownPhenom) January 3, 2023
But you wouldn’t let a toddler hit you and there was no repercussion
— Kevin Lee MTP (@MoTownPhenom) January 3, 2023
As for the media, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith was incredibly sweet on White speaking on “First Take”.
“Dana White is not just someone I know and support, and neither are you. He’s a buddy. I love him,” Smith said. “I just wish the best for him and his family. He knows how wrong it was to do that. He knows we’re on this. He knew in advance because I contacted him to let him know I’d be talking about it this morning. He knows he’s crossed a line he’s never crossed before and has sworn to himself he won’t cross it again. He’s incredibly ashamed of himself. That’s where we are right now.
Meanwhile, longtime combat sports journalist Kevin Iole covered White in his Yahoo Sports narrativeQuickly outlining how White, “work and play at a blistering pace” and have done a lot of good for this world, “advocating for many charitable causes, creating thousands of jobs, doing everything possible to help dozens of needy people, sick and unlucky people…”
Again, White himself offered no justification or excuse for slapping his wife. However, he didn’t need it because it turns out that many people were willing to provide him with more than enough.
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