In nearly every mainstream media story written on the UFC, Dana White is ultimately compared to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell because of their completely opposite stances — public and private — running highly-visible sports leagues.
But on Jim Rome’s Showtime talk show Wednesday, White said that if offered Goodell’s job, he “wouldn’t want it for any amount of money,” adding that he couldn’t do his job because “he’s not a football guy.”
White was part of a panel on Rome’s year-in-review show, flanked by NFL Hall-of-Famer Michael Irvin and political analyst/consultant James Carville. Instead of being asked about the UFC, White got to give his opinion on a variety of mainstream sports subjects. Here’s a sample:
- On Lebron James evolving back into a beloved figure after winning his first NBA title, White said that he is very happy that James “shoved it up everybody’s ass”. When Irvin and Carville later got heated when discussing the long-debated “The Decision” program, White sat back and smiled without interjecting. He later added, “Michael (Irvin) is a good friend of mine, but he’s wrong. The way (Lebron) did it was wrong. Everyone hated him and by winning the championship, everything will be behind him.”
- On Lance Armstrong and the drug controversies that came up again this year: “This is a tough one for me…he has raised hundreds of millions for cancer. I hate ripping people apart. Why not go after someone while they are in the sport? In our sport, we’re regulated by the government…this random (stuff) is bullshit.”
He went on to reiterate that everyone gets tested in MMA and there are “real penalties” if you get caught. His point was that everyone in the major sports are cheating and that the Congressional attempts to convict athletes after they are retired is “a big bullshit circus show. What did that big grandstanding do?”
- On more athletes coming out as gay, White talked about Liz Carmouche and said that when it came to athletes being gay or straight, “I could care less. I think it’s ridiculous that the government can tell people that love each other that they can’t get married.”
Considering he didn’t really talk about the UFC at all, White more than held his own even though some of his viewpoints on how MMA is more harshly regulated than other sports is eyebrow raising. The show is available for Showtime subscribers now and also features a much-talked about Q & A segment with Chael Sonnen and a must-see interview with Mike Tyson.
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