Dana White, Ariel Emanuel, California Legislative Women's Caucus
Amy Kaplan/Getty Images/Amy Sussman/Getty Images
While Dana While says losing his UFC perch would be no punishment to him, Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel has been slammed by the California Legislative Women’s Caucus for continued silence after a leaked video showed the sports boss punching his wife at a New Year’s Eve party in Mexico.
“Every day that Mr. White’s actions go unaccounted for, your silence becomes more piercing and troubling,” the influential Golden State political group said in a letter to Emanuel that was published online.
“In the days since the video was released, you have remained silent,” declared group chair Senator Nancy Skinner, and vice-chair Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry on behalf of 17 female state senators and 32 state Assemblywomen.
“Your continued silence speaks volumes,” they noted before turning Mel Gibson and Kanye West critic Emanuel’s words on him. “As you once wrote: ‘Silence and inaction are not an option.’”
“At this point, thousands of young men, women, and adults worldwide have seen the video of Mr. White striking his wife,” the correspondence also says. “We have also seen his apology. What we have not seen is any consequences for his actions. As Chief Executive Officer of Endeavor, the U.F.C.’s parent company, you have the authority to decide who leads the U.F.C., which is one of the world’s most watched sporting leagues, with millions of fans across the globe. Mr. White is not only the external face of the U.F.C., he is the leader who sets the expectations for the athletes as well,” the scathing correspondence said of the lucrative professional wrestling franchise that is Endeavor’s crown jewel.
Endeavor reps haven’t made a peep about White since the NYE video went viral last week. The company did not respond to request for comment from Deadline today on this latest chapter in a sordid tale.
White, however, had his own thoughts on the situation that he shared with reporters in advance of January 14’s UFC Fight Night 217. According to the extreme sports boss, he’s been punished enough and his exit would hurt everyone else, more than him.
“What should the repercussions be? You tell me. I take 30 days off?” White asked reporters at a media event Wednesday. “How does that hurt me? Me leaving hurts the company. Hurts my employees. Hurts the fighters. Doesn’t hurt me.”
“Do I need to reflect? No, I don’t need to reflect. ..I own this. I’m telling you that I’m wrong” he added – – as you can see in the video below.
White acknowledged he’s been talking about the incident with his boss Emanuel and “nobody is happy about this.” As for punishment, “I’ve got to walk around for however long I live…and this is how I’m labeled now.”
And “a lot of people, whether it be media, fighters, friends, acquaintances who had respect for me might not have respect for me now. There are a lot of things I’m gonna have to deal with for the rest of my life that are much more of a punishment than, what, I take a 30-60-day absence?” See video below.
As the California legislators and others have pointed out, Emanuel has often staked out a moral high ground as he built Endeavor, most recently calling on companies doing business with Kanye West to end their relationships with the rapper after an anti-Semitic rant. In 2010, he famously cut ties with WME client Mel Gibson after racist slurs.
“Given Mr. White’s previous remarks against domestic partner violence, we believed that Endeavor and the U.F.C. shared this commitment to safety, respect, and accountability,” said the January 9 letter from the bipartisan caucus to Emanuel. “You yourself have written extensively about the need to speak out and act when we see things that are not in line with our values,” added Senator Skinner, and vice-chair Assemblywoman Aguiar-Curry to Emanuel. “And yet, we have seen the video of U.F.C. President Dana White, where he strikes his wife at a New Year’s Eve celebration with a closed fist. We were appalled. It was alarming to say the least.
Video footage posted by TMZ of an argument on the balcony of a VIP suite at the Cabo San Lucas nightclub in Mexico, shows White’s wife Anne slap him after he grabs her wrist. White then smacks his wife across the face in response before the pair are separated by other partygoers.
One immediate consequence of the incident is that TBS has pushed back the premiere of White’s Power Slapping League until January 18. Not that hitting his wife or the postponement has hampered a tin-eared White for promoting the venture on social media:
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