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The WEC released an official statement Wednesday morning, condemning lightweight Donald Cerrone's death threats and insensitive comments earlier this week towards former and upcoming opponent Jamie Varner.
"In a recent radio interview, WEC fighter Donald Cerrone went too far in talking about his upcoming fight with Jamie Varner and we believe he crossed a line of decency in doing so," WEC vice president Peter Dropick stated on WEC.tv. "We will not tolerate a fighter who makes comments that are not consistent with our company values, nor will we tolerate the use of slurs that may offend any segment of the public."
On an interview Monday with TapouT Radio to hype his WEC 51 fight on Sept. 30, Cerrone drew backlash for his all-too-literal trash talk, stating, among other things, "I hope my emotions take over and I just kill this dude. I hope this is the first death in MMA."
Additionally, Cerrone took shots at Varner with homophobic slurs for Varner's inability to continue in their WEC 38 fight. In the January 2009 title bout, Varner walked off with a split decision after receiving an illegal knee prompting the fifth-round technical decision.
Cerrone's segment has since been removed from the radio show's archives.
While Cerrone took the initiative to apologize on Twitter to Varner hours after the appearance, the WEC says it will have a discussion with Cerrone to review the company's policies.
"We are aware Donald issued his own immediate apology on Twitter," Dropick stated. "But we still needed to speak with him about it, and to issue our own statement making our position known."
"In a recent radio interview, WEC fighter Donald Cerrone went too far in talking about his upcoming fight with Jamie Varner and we believe he crossed a line of decency in doing so," WEC vice president Peter Dropick stated on WEC.tv. "We will not tolerate a fighter who makes comments that are not consistent with our company values, nor will we tolerate the use of slurs that may offend any segment of the public."
On an interview Monday with TapouT Radio to hype his WEC 51 fight on Sept. 30, Cerrone drew backlash for his all-too-literal trash talk, stating, among other things, "I hope my emotions take over and I just kill this dude. I hope this is the first death in MMA."
Additionally, Cerrone took shots at Varner with homophobic slurs for Varner's inability to continue in their WEC 38 fight. In the January 2009 title bout, Varner walked off with a split decision after receiving an illegal knee prompting the fifth-round technical decision.
Cerrone's segment has since been removed from the radio show's archives.
While Cerrone took the initiative to apologize on Twitter to Varner hours after the appearance, the WEC says it will have a discussion with Cerrone to review the company's policies.
"We are aware Donald issued his own immediate apology on Twitter," Dropick stated. "But we still needed to speak with him about it, and to issue our own statement making our position known."
lol I guess you've seen it
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