Mo Lawal: I was out of line for calling the NSAC commissioner the b-word
Posted on March 31, 2012, 12:49 PM by Joey Santosus
After venting his frustrations with the Nevada State Athletic Commission earlier this week, and being subsequently released by ZUFFA for his poor choice in words while doing so, Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal is expressing remorse.
Lawal was put in the hot seat after testing positive for banned substances following his victory over Lorenz Larkin in January. Despite accepting the result of the test, "King Mo" has denied any intent to illegally gain an edge over his opponent.
With that in mind, the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champ was granted an opportunity to plead his case with the NSAC at a disciplinary hearing this past Tuesday. The commission, however, didn't see things his way, and Lawal was handed down a 9-month suspension, $39,000 fine, and had his victory over Larkin overturned.
It was shortly thereafter that a disgruntled Lawal took to Twitter to voice his displeasure with, what he contends, was a racially motivated question asked by the NSAC's Pat Lundvall. As the now infamous story goes, "King Mo" was asked if he was able to "speak and/or read English" when filling out his pre-fight questionnaire.
"When I showed up to the hearing, I proved that I can speak and I can read. I don’t know when, but she got mad at me, got irritated, and was like, ‘Look, can you speak and read English?’ Now to me, that’s an insult," Lawal told MMAFighting.com.
His immediate reaction to the perceived insult would later cost him his job, as he referenced Lundvall as a "racist b--ch" in a Tweet that Lawal now acknowledges was ill-advised.
"When it comes down to it, I'm going to be real. I was out of line for calling the woman the b-word. I was wrong for that," Lawal admitted to CSN California. "I was kind of mad about the comments - I was offended by the comments made towards me, and I was out of line. I was too emotional. I apologize for that. With that being said, I still feel that I was offended, but I'm in the wrong for what I said."
Whether or not his apology will put him back in the good graces of ZUFFA is yet to be seen, but it wouldn't be the first time a fighter has been released by the organization only to be re-signed once they've taken the appropriate steps to right their wrong-doings.
Further Reading: King Mo suspended for nine months, released by ZUFFA (Update)
Comments
Dont say anything negative about women IchokePeople is still crying about my last post. I guess I offended her.
Yep Mo I figured you were the kind of guy that would be sitting in jail before you realized your a moron. Amazing how the straighten up after Dana bich slaps them....oops sorry IchokePeople I did it again....Im so bad.
Miss Lundvall is a uneducated person and rasistic acting. I feel sorry for king mo even if i am not ab real fan of his...
"Miss Lundvall is a uneducated person and rasistic acting."
I dont think "rasistic" is often used by educated individuals.
I'd change my profile name after that.
let me vent for you Mo, "Pat Lundvall is a racist B I T C H!!!! and if she is offended and disagrees then she is an ignorant racist B I T C H!!!
As for you Mo everybody and their mothers knew you took steroids just so you could get an edge.....hello...that's why steroid users take it!!
Cowboy the f...u...c..k up and admit to cheating you frkn crybaby!
Ok you came to the court for hearing as a procedure will be asked "Do you speak english and write or needed someone to present for you ? and you replied and call them B...itch and expected to go free .LMAO
possibly that could be asked if the person is known to have difficulty or maybe right at the start of the hearing, but not 10 minutes into the hearing in a condescending tone of voice when she clearly knows he speaks english, there is nothing directly racist about that but it is very insulting to anyone who regards themselves as fairly intelligent
Let me just put this into context for y'all
First - Mo has been doing drug tests (including more comprehensive ones I might add (WADA)) for 10+ years, and this is the first time he has tested positive. With that, lets not be so quick to jump to the conclusion that he knowingly put an illegal substance in his body. The fact is he did put an illegal substance in his body, he is ultimately responsible for it, and consequently was punished.
Second - While it is procedure during court hearings to ask the defendant if they can read/understand English, this should be done at the beginning of the hearing. They had already been conversing for 20 minutes (in English), so it's safe to say Mo's grasp of the language was established.
Third - The question was posed in a condescending and disrespectful manner. Being an authority does not give you the right to treat people this way. Pat Lundvall is known for her questionable tacits aswell (ask BJ Penn how grease gate was)
Fourth - Mo's response was unprofessional, unnecessary and rude; as was Lundvall's question. Unless your like Mo, an African-American growing up in the south, you really have no authority when speaking about racism in this case, and the lens through which Mo experienced it. You don't know for certain what type of emotions her question was likely to evoke in Mo, and more importantly you can't determine what the nature of his response was.
Conclusion - The comment was uncalled for, but for him to lose his job over it is ludicrous, and for the public to defend the decision is equally ludicrous. If we exercise fair judgment, we can at least deem his emotional reaction to the comments reasonable, and therefore forgive/excuse him for his unfortunate tweet after apologies are made.
Glad you numbered the paragraphs my scroll is jumpy 8))
Well said Dray.
The only thing I would say to the racism side is, one should have either a little evidence or more information than what was said to make that accusation (especially against a public official). What was said was insulting and condescending, but not necessarily racist. In fact the only reason race would even be brought up is because it was said to a black man by a white woman. No other evidence is present of any intent for the remark to come from a racist mindset from Lundval.
For sure, it's a bit of stretch to actually call Lundval a racist, but I can see why Mo thought her comments were racially insensitive. She may have said the exact same thing to a white guy, and I'm sure the white guy would take it as "is she calling me a moron!?" (especially considering her body language and eye rolling), rather than "what a racist!". I'm just saying that based on Mo's background and the environment he grew up in, I definitely see why his knee-jerk reaction was "racist" and why the emotions connected to the questioning caused him to lash out. My main problem with this whole thing is the fact Zuffa fired him without getting his side of the story, and without the courtesy of a phone call. Also a lot of the reactions I've seen are very dismissive of the possible racial implications. If you haven't been subjected to racism, it may be difficult to judge if Mo's reaction. (I'm white and Canadian so I never experience and seldom witness racism).
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