Mo Lawal (Photo/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)Former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal was cut by Zuffa on Tuesday after a day of professional and personal setbacks. Lawal's bad day started when he went in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission to answer for his positive test for the anabolic steroid, drostanolone. King Mo lost his appeal and took his disappointment and anger with him to the Twittersphere where he made inflammatory and slanderous comments about NSAC commission chair Pat Lundvall, calling her a "racist bitch."
Much has been written about King Mo's bad day, but none of it places the blame on the main perpetrator of wrongdoing: "King Mo" Lawal himself.
If you take a look at where the controversy has ended up -- race and Twitter -- you have to address Lawal's assertion that comments made by Lundvall were racist and that King Mo was within reason to attack her through social media. To believe King Mo and the current discussion, you have to swallow a lot of half-truths and take a few leaps of faith.
Lundvall, a partner in a Las Vegas law firm and chair of the NSAC that overheard Lawal's appeal, was incredibly tough on the former Oklahoma State wrestler during his meeting on Tuesday. She questioned him on when he took what supplements and why he so poorly documented them in his pre-fight questionnaires. After a long back-and-forth with Lawal (audio), Lundvall asked him why he failed to mention he was taking any medications (including Aleve), much less the supplement in question. Lawal immediately began to weave excuses to which Lundvall, like an exasperated parent condescending a misleading child, said "You signed this (application) that you filled out, did you not?" ... "And you understand English? And you read English?"
King Mo was suspended for nine months and docked a total of $39,000 in winnings for the positive test. His Twitter response was immediate.
"I honestly feel like Lundvall was a racist bitch asking me if I can read or speak English. Go on somewhere with that bullshit."
Lundvall's comments were far from racist, and the only bullshit in the exchange was calling a woman a "bitch" for aggressively questioning an obvious runaround. Lawal's comment was a combination of name-calling and a desire for a discussion of racial issues instead of his own failures.
But this type of excuse-making and distraction creation is "Mo being Mo" -- scanning the available landscape for others to blame for his shortcomings and failures, when he's the only person responsible for his actions. He knows he has no rational play, no substantial claim at racism. He's out of excuses, but where a floundering, desperate fighter would normally capitulate and recognize their errors, King Mo (because of his effervescence, intelligence and willingness to give a good interview) has received positive coverage by members of the media. Specifically leading the charge to make his dismissal more about inconsistencies in firing Zuffa fighters, and the need for a "Twitter Code of Conduct."
Shortly after being dismissed (mere hours) Lawal was on the phone with the staff of MMAfighting.com (Ariel Helwani and Ben Fowlkes) pleading his case to friendly ears. The duo then took to the airwaves to mostly substantiate Lawal's claims of racism and inconsistency regarding the policing of Twitter. Later, King Mo popped up on No Holds Barred with Eddie Goldman claiming again that he was the victim of racism, and specifying that where he grew up in Tennessee the words Lundvall said were considered racist.
Racial tensions have been exploited by professional athletes in the past to displace blame for personal actions. Whether the athlete is black or Hispanic or Polynesian the attempt to make an issue with one's conduct into a discussion about the racial beliefs of those making the decision is textbook misdirection. Asking someone if they can read is condescending and rude, but it's also a trope repeated millions of times a day by irritated rule makers (looking at you, Mom) who are frustrated by a never-ending stream of excuses. Lundvall's choice of colloquialisms weren't based in race, they were just focused on the inability of others to pay attention to the instructions as they were listed. Lawal is playing the race card for personal gain, and the media that supports Mo's assertions are calling shotgun on a fantastical joy ride.
I don't know Lundvall, but it's categorically unfair to accuse her of being a racist, or assume that her comments were inspired by the fact that King Mo is black. For that accusation alone Lawal should have been fired. Never mind that he was suspended for using steroids, something that has gotten other fighters canned in the past.
But that wasn't all he wrote, Lawal also called Lundvall a "bitch." He of course had an explanation for this as well, explaining that if you look on his Twitter feed he's called more men "bitches" than women.
Who cares who else Lawal calls a "bitch?" He's a 31-year-old man who insulted and demeaned a very successful woman who did nothing but call him on his bullshit. If you want to talk about prejudices, the more common one in this exchange would be calling a powerful woman a "bitch" for being assertive.
What about the Twitter Code of Conduct that the MMA media intelligentsia is so desperate to see? It's not a bad idea, but it also wouldn't have impacted any portion of Zuffa's decision to dismiss Lawal.
The Twitter Code of Conduct might have been helpful in the case of Miguel Torres and Forrest Griffin, who tweeted broad indirect jokes about rape without a singular audience as their intended victim. These guys were knuckleheads, but they were also immediately remorseful for having offended women, and the victims of rape. Not only did both delete the offending tweets and apologize online and in-person, they also made attempts to perform good. (Griffin made a donation to a rape crisis center.) They showed remorse.
Lawal did nothing but delete the tweet, but his offense wasn't having crappy comedic taste, it was attacking an individual -- one who happend to be his boss' boss (kind of). Zuffa can't allow their fighters to personally insult members of the NSAC. That's just bad business. But in terms of Twitter Code of Conduct, in no way would that policy include an exemption for calling the Chair of the Nevada State Athletic Commission a "racist bitch."
As of now, Lawal is standing by his assessment that Lundvall is a “racist bitch.†He has shown no repentance, no comprehension that what he tweeted and what he's said is wrong. There's not an employer in the world that should keep someone that insubordinate and indignant on their payroll.
Lawal is a good guy. He's entertaining. He's a decent fighter and a profitable draw. However, he's been handed a nine-month suspension and has attacked members of the commission. His behavior is more costly to the organization that hired him (and I'm including the use of steroids in his conduct) than it is worth to keep him around. Lawal needs to learn his lessons and needs to apologize. He needs to stop making excuses and own up to his mistakes.
Lawal's a wrestler by training, and would be well-served to remember two lessons from his days on the mat: One: Never speak to a referee. Two: When you lose, you only have yourself to blame.
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