Seth Davis calls UFC homoerotic, then furiously backpedals
With the UFC gaining acceptance in the mainstream with the Fox deal it signed a year ago, there are still some media types out there who haven't grasped the appeal of it. One of these media types is CBS college basketball basketball analyst Seth Davis, who had a pair of now deleted tweet during UFC 154 on Saturday night, calling the UFC "homoerotic"...
Oh bother. What exactly separates the UFC from boxing or wrestling to earn that kind of label? Perhaps Davis thinks the same of all combat sports? I'm not sure how twisting a joint off or smashing someone's face into rubble is homoerotic, but hey, more power to you. It's not as if CBS underwent a foray into MMA years ago, before the UFC even hinted at signing a deal with Fox... oh wait, they did, with both EliteXC and Strikeforce shows taking place on the network.
To his credit, Davis fessed up to the poor taste of the tweets after being called out by MMA journalist Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com.
I don't know what exactly would possess a member of the mainstream media to come out and call another sport homoerotic, but at least Davis realized he screwed up and is taking the backlash like a man. As much as this was in bad taste, it's yet another example of a hurdle the UFC has to clear in its race towards mainstream acceptance as a sport.
"What exactly separates the UFC from boxing or wrestling to earn that kind of label?" Let me see ... Boxing - always standing, legs mostly covered; Wrestling (amateur) - Torso mostly covered, time limits, more rules; Wrestling (pro) - Men enough to be up front about it (remember Gorgeous George?), MMA - lots of skin, in grasps for long sweaty moments of (fighting?) passion. Sorry folks.
@LockBull usually when 2 guys are throwing punches,elbow, kicks and knees at you it called fighting. And, when a guy is trying to dislocate or break a limb of your body it's called fighting or when they are trying to choke you it is also called fighting. Last time I watched a boxing match the guys had on shorts but no shirts,so they aren't mostly covered. My guess is you don't watch to much mma bc a lot of guys wear shorts with out a shirt on when they fight. But if you know of a fighter who fights with pants and a long sleeve shirt on let me know.
@JohnathanBennett @LockBull See Gracie family in early days of MMA...in their Gi's. If it wasn't for the loooooooong periods of going to the ground and doing next to nothing, I'd say you have a point. IMHO dislocation of limbs and choking have no place in organized sport, but do in the wild. (not too crazy about boxing either) McCain called it "Human Cockfighting", guess that has meaning on more than one level.
@JohnathanBennett Something positive in that Dana White said a year ago that he would welcome a Gay fighter coming out. Hooray for him. Maybe we'd all be better off if the "backpedaling" didn't take place and accept people's interpretations, it doesn't have to be a bad thing.
@awfulannouncing I once had a prominent UFC guy tell me, "It's only homoerotic if you make eye-contact." Seriously.
