Dana White Is Facing No Punishment For Hitting His Wife
Dana White addressed the media on Wednesday nearly two weeks after the 53-year-old admitting hitting his wife during a New Year's Eve altercation. When asked what punishment he'd face after the incident and the UFC president essentially said there wouldn't be one.
White said he wouldn't be stepping down because that would only hurt the company and its fighters. He also said walking away wouldn't hurt him.
Dana White on if there need to be repercussions:
— Greg Rosenstein (@grosenstein) January 11, 2023
"Me leaving hurts the company, hurts my employees, hurts the fighters. It doesn’t hurt me. I could have left in 2016. Do I need to reflect? I don’t need to reflect. I’ve owned this. I’m telling you that I’m wrong."
White went on to say he had been having internal discussions with Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel and ESPN. While he said nobody is happy about what happened, there doesn't seem to be any punishment in the works. In fact, White thinks he's already being punished.
Dana White: "We've had plenty of discussions internally. With Ari [Emanuel], ESPN. Nobody is happy about this. Neither am I. But it happened and I have to deal with it. What is my punishment? Here is my punishment: I gotta walk around... and this is how I'm labelled" pic.twitter.com/YLuXPzL6Vu
— Shakiel Mahjouri (@Shak_Fu) January 11, 2023
I do kind of agree with him that a suspension doesn't really accomplish anything other than giving him a vacation. A massive fine might make a dent but how do you determine what number is appropriate? The only real solution is removing him from the company or at least removing him as the face of the business and, essentially, the face of MMA worldwide. That doesn't appear to be happening.
Here's the problem: when White's fighters screw up they face consequences. Now he has screwed up and doesn't appear to be facing any.