ironworks
09-25-2014, 10:44 PM
Count UFC commentator Joe Rogan among those upset over Wanderlei Silva's lifetime ban handed down by the Nevada Athletic Commission on Tuesday. In addition to the ban, Silva was fined $70,000 (35 percent of his purse) for evading a random drug test in Las Vegas prior to a scheduled bout with Chael Sonnen at UFC 175.
"I just think the penalty is way over the top," Rogan explained Wednesday. "It's one thing if you want to tell the guy he's suspended for a year. Pretend as if you caught him for using steroids. If he got caught and it was his first time being caught it would be a nine month suspension. Instead of doing that they prohibit him from fighting for a f**king life. A whole life. He can't be 80 and apply for a license for running from one drug test. I think that's ridiculous."
Rogan was sympathetic with the commission's attempt at taking a hard line, but not in the fashion it was dolled out.
"You can't do it like that," said Rogan. "You're sending a message that you have ultimate power and you're unreasonable. That's not reasonable. It's one thing if they said, 'Hey, we're going to suspend you for two years' like Chael Sonnen.
"Two years is big, but to say 'You can never fight again, ever, because you ran [from] a test.' He f**ked up. He definitely f**ked up. That's so unprecedented. It's so crazy. Even if they said they were going to suspend him for two years, man, that's harsh as s**t. There's a big difference between a guy running from a drug test and a guy beating the f**k out of his kid with a stick or a guy knocking his girlfriend out in an elevator. Those are different things. That's like some evil s**t."
Rogan believes there will be growing pains due to the commission's recent implementation of randomized drug testing, but that ultimately it's a necessary move for the sport.
"These [fighters] have been juking the system for a long time," said Rogan. "Chael was the tip of the iceberg and when he got popped it sent a real message to everybody.
"They want to clean that sport up and that's the way to do it. The way to clean it up is to randomize drug testing and to do the most stringent level of testing imaginable and that's what they're doing right now.
"If they didn't do that it becomes a mockery. If it becomes a mockery it actually devalues the sport. It could be detrimental to the bottom line of a business and that's the difference between guys like Lorenzo Frettita. He runs casinos. They know how to make money."
Rogan points to the case of No. 1 middleweight contender Vitor Belfort, who said in February that 'many' fighters use performance enhancing drugs ahead of their bouts, cycling off close to fight night.
"Let's look what's going on here," said Rogan. "These guys keep getting caught and when they get caught they're saying 'Everyone's on it.' Vitor said that. He said like 90 percent of these guy use when they're in camp. He would know better than any of us, so if Vitor's saying something like that, he's not known as a liar, you've got to think there's something to it. If you want to nip that s**t in the bud there's only one f**king way. You've got to randomly test these dudes."
"I just think the penalty is way over the top," Rogan explained Wednesday. "It's one thing if you want to tell the guy he's suspended for a year. Pretend as if you caught him for using steroids. If he got caught and it was his first time being caught it would be a nine month suspension. Instead of doing that they prohibit him from fighting for a f**king life. A whole life. He can't be 80 and apply for a license for running from one drug test. I think that's ridiculous."
Rogan was sympathetic with the commission's attempt at taking a hard line, but not in the fashion it was dolled out.
"You can't do it like that," said Rogan. "You're sending a message that you have ultimate power and you're unreasonable. That's not reasonable. It's one thing if they said, 'Hey, we're going to suspend you for two years' like Chael Sonnen.
"Two years is big, but to say 'You can never fight again, ever, because you ran [from] a test.' He f**ked up. He definitely f**ked up. That's so unprecedented. It's so crazy. Even if they said they were going to suspend him for two years, man, that's harsh as s**t. There's a big difference between a guy running from a drug test and a guy beating the f**k out of his kid with a stick or a guy knocking his girlfriend out in an elevator. Those are different things. That's like some evil s**t."
Rogan believes there will be growing pains due to the commission's recent implementation of randomized drug testing, but that ultimately it's a necessary move for the sport.
"These [fighters] have been juking the system for a long time," said Rogan. "Chael was the tip of the iceberg and when he got popped it sent a real message to everybody.
"They want to clean that sport up and that's the way to do it. The way to clean it up is to randomize drug testing and to do the most stringent level of testing imaginable and that's what they're doing right now.
"If they didn't do that it becomes a mockery. If it becomes a mockery it actually devalues the sport. It could be detrimental to the bottom line of a business and that's the difference between guys like Lorenzo Frettita. He runs casinos. They know how to make money."
Rogan points to the case of No. 1 middleweight contender Vitor Belfort, who said in February that 'many' fighters use performance enhancing drugs ahead of their bouts, cycling off close to fight night.
"Let's look what's going on here," said Rogan. "These guys keep getting caught and when they get caught they're saying 'Everyone's on it.' Vitor said that. He said like 90 percent of these guy use when they're in camp. He would know better than any of us, so if Vitor's saying something like that, he's not known as a liar, you've got to think there's something to it. If you want to nip that s**t in the bud there's only one f**king way. You've got to randomly test these dudes."