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The UFC’s outfitting partner is not on board with Colby
Covington’s views regarding the Black Lives Matter
movement.
Reebok issued a statement to
Bloody Elbow condemning the comments Covington made on the
issue following his victory over Tyron
Woodley at UFC Fight Night 178 this past Saturday in Las Vegas.
The apparel company, which has partnered with the UFC since 2015,
does not have a separate sponsorship deal with Covington as it does
with many of the promotion’s athletes. However, Covington is
required to wear Reebok apparel during fight week and in the
Octagon as part of the outfitting policy.
“Reebok is the uniform provider for the UFC, however we do not
sponsor Colby Covington,” the statement read. “We do not agree with
the sentiments he expressed, and stand firm in our belief that
Black lives matter. We stand with athletes and communities who are
fighting for change.”
Reebok’s deal with the UFC will run through March, and then Venum
will become the promotion’s official apparel sponsor.
Covington has risen to prominence in part because of his penchant
for making controversial remarks in recent years, and his latest
might have been the most inflammatory yet during a tense period in
the United States when many in the country are focused on social
justice issues.
“The Black Lives Matter is a complete sham,” Covington said at the
post-fight press conference. “It’s a joke. They’re taking these
people that are complete terrorists. They’re taking these people
that are criminals. These aren’t people that are hardworking
Americans, blue-collar Americans. These are bad people. They’re
criminals.
“They shouldn’t be attacking police. If you’re breaking the law and
you’re threatening the cops with weapons, you deserve to get what
you get. Law enforcement protects us all. If we don’t have law
enforcement, it’d be the wild wild west.”
Covington also took aim at Woodley, calling him a “communist” and
saying “he hates America” before engaging in an ill-advised
argument with former foe — and reigning UFC welterweight champion —
Kamaru
Usman during the post-fight show on ESPN. Covington had
received a congratulatory call from United States President Donald
Trump moments earlier.
“Who did you get a call from? Did you get a call from, freaking,
your little tribe? Did they give you some smoke signals for you?”
Covington said. “You’re a joke, Marty Fakenewsman!”
Meanwhile, UFC president Dana White said that the promotion
wouldn’t punish Covington for his words.
“One of the things that we’ve never done here at the UFC is stop
people from expressing how they feel about certain things inside or
outside the Octagon,” White said at the UFC Fight Night 178
post-fight press conference. “Even if it’s me, if it’s about me.
Who’s more about free speech than we are? We literally let our
people do or say whatever it is they do. It’s normal.”
Covington’s remarks have
drawn the ire of black athletes in the UFC, and those who are
competing at UFC 253 on Saturday expressed their displeasure with
the controversial welterweight, including reigning middleweight
king Israel
Adesanya.
“It just shows you the landscape of the media, what it is right
now,” Adesanya said during a media day event. “I made a joke about
dropping [Yoel] Romero like the Twin Towers and everyone lost their
mind, even if I said it was a joke and it was pretty funny, but
people took it as I was being offensive and like, digging — but I
was making a joke.
“This guy [Covington] has directly insulted my culture, my brother
and many other cultures, and no one says anything, but it just
shows you a mirror. Shows you a mirror to you guys. So, yeah. I
don’t really care. Kamaru Usman broke his jaw [when they fought in
2019], so I don’t really care.”
