In case you've missed the ongoing saga that is Frank Shamrock's anti-bullying campaign, count yourself blessed. If not, here is what is up: It began when former UFC champion Frank Shamrock, now a commentator with Strikeforce, criticized Dana White for MMA's failure to gain sanctioning in New York State. http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/10/...s-for-negative-perception-of-mma-in-new-york/ Dana White, the corporate CEO who calls people pussies on Twitter, certainly wasn't going to take the critique in stride; that isn't his style. Instead, he launched into an attack on Frank Shamrock in an interview with Ariel Helwani. If you want to skip the video, White called Shamrock irrelevant and said he is a two-faced liar. [video=youtube;ozFsDKxluxM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozFsDKxluxM[/video] It didn't end there. Frank Shamrock, his credibility challenged publicly, issued a response. Note that he now addresses White as Mr. White rather than Dana White, the more formal tone an attempt to give his statement more gravitas: If you notice, Shamrock uses the word bullying. Although Shamrock started the argument by saying Dana White is partially to blame for a negative image of MMA in New York State (which is debatable at best), now Shamrock calls White a bully for responding harshly. We're a long way from done yet, kids. So everyone is familiar with the trend of celebrities speaking out against bullying since a few high-profile incidents of bullied teens committing suicide, correct? Shamrock, ever the self-promoter, has jumped on this bandwagon. Here is the video: [video=youtube;cE6n44eULuc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE6n44eULuc[/video] When Shamrock claims that he was bullied, guess what--he means a week or two ago by Dana White. Bullied over the internet in an interview. Absolutely equivalent to a gay teen being pushed over the edge. Absolutely. Now, as they say, is where the plot thickens. Shamrock used to train in San Jose with AKA but left with some burned bridges. One of the guys who was around him and worked with him regularly was UFC veteran Mike Swick, who watched the PSA and had this to say via Twitter: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2010/11/23/mike-swick-and-frank-shamrock-engage-in-online-war-or-words/ Shamrock, his credibility attacked for a second time by a new person, was forced to respond: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2010/11/23/mike-swick-and-frank-shamrock-engage-in-online-war-or-words/ Back to Swick: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2010/11/23/mike-swick-and-frank-shamrock-engage-in-online-war-or-words/ Finally, Shamrock invited Swick to meet with him personally in San Jose to iron-out their issues, a proposal Swick has so far ignored. So yeah, don't think MMA fighters are above internet flame wars and name-calling. Next time you see someone get accused of being "an internet tough guy", keep in mind that even some pro fighters are just that.
Re: The Shamrock-Swick saga, or why fighters act like schoolgirls Yeah, the second I read about Shamrock doing a PSA for bullying I wasn't having none of it. The guy looks and sounds like the typical jock that loves to push people around. A lot of these guys, especially Dana (not just in this example, but he usually lets himself get caught up in a lot of flame wars), needs to learn how to let things slide.
