UFC fighters Manel Kape and Charles Radtke issued apologies for using homophobic slurs in their post-fight speeches at UFC 293, while UFC President Dana White maintained his policy of allowing athletes freedom of speech.
Manel Kape and Charles Radtke both succeeded in securing victories at UFC 293. Their triumphs, however, were overshadowed by the controversy of their ensuing post-fight speeches. Both athletes resorted to using expletives and homophobic slurs during their speeches. Radtke, in particular, unleashed a verbal tirade against the Australian audience, inviting them to fight him. Following his outburst, UFC color commentator Daniel Cormier terminated the interview abruptly and walked away.
Kape had a slightly different evening, as he earned a unanimous decision win against Felipe dos Santos. His success, though, was soon forgotten as he targeted Kai Kara-France, who was observing from the crowd. Kape and Kara-France were initially set to contend against each other, but Kara-France was unable to participate due to a concussion he had sustained during training. The former couldn’t resist expressing his contempt for Kara-France and his team at City Kickboxing, utilizing offensive language before his speech was cut short.
Subsequent to their post-fight statements, both Radtke and Kape issued apologies for their derogatory remarks and language. At the post-match press conference, UFC President Dana White expressed his stance on the matter, reiterating his policy of allowing athletes the liberty to express themselves freely. He acknowledged the poor choice of language used by the two fighters, but pointed out that they apologized on their own accord.
Under the UFC’s code of conduct policy, all fighters are susceptible to punitive action for any behavior that potentially undermines the promotional reputation of the organization. The policy extends to the inappropriate language utilized by Kape and Radtke. To illustrate, Nate Diaz suffered a $20,000 fine in addition to a 90-day suspension in 2013 when he used a homophobic slur on social media. While the UFC has infrequently enforced this rule, White lauded Radtke’s decision to publicly apologize without any prompting from the UFC. White made it clear that he did not compel anyone to apologize, emphasizing that as adults, fighters were free to act as they see fit. Albeit Radtke’s apology, White admitted that public response would likely be varied, with some choosing to accept the apology while others might not.