Veterans Group Calls on Marine Corps to Cut Ties with UFC Over Homophobia, Misogyny, Hate Speech

The Veterans Committee of UNITE HERE, a union representing 250,000 workers in the hotel, food service and restaurant, textile, industrial laundry, and gaming industries in North America, will deliver 5,000 signed petitions to the Commandant of the Marine Corps in Washington D.C., as well as to Marine Corps recruiting stations in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, San Diego and Washington, D.C. on Thursday, asking for the Marine Corps to cut all ties with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the group says in a press release.

The veteran activists also will voice their support for a bipartisan amendment to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 5856) that would ban military spending on professional sports. The proposed ban – the “UFC Amendment” -- would prohibit the use of taxpayer money to sponsor the UFC and other pro sports organizations. The Marine Corps has spent more than $2 million sponsoring the UFC, the nation’s largest promoter of cage fighting events. The UFC is an organization that has tolerated people associated with it making jokes about rape, homophobic slurs and sexually explicit remarks that are demeaning towards women.

Taxpayer money should not be used to support homophobia, misogyny and hate speech, in any form. Through its sponsorship of the UFC, the Marine Corps has trivialized service to our country by juxtaposing images of Marines fighting for our country with the spectacle of cage fighting.

The group has also released a video compilation of hate speech in the UFC.

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

'Ultimate Fighter' Contestant Says 'Gay for Pay' Past was Mistake

Ultimate Fighting Championship has come under fire in recent months for its homophobic past, with LGBT groups calling on Anheuser Busch to drop its sponsorship of UFC over the organization's failure to address homophobic behavior by its leaders and athletes. Which may be why Dakota Cochrane, a former Sean Cody actor who has reportedly been in more than 16 gay adult films and is now a contestant in the reality series The Ultimate Fighter, is getting attention. Cochrane, who performed under the name "Danny" for Sean Cody, says he is straight.

MMA Fighting reports:

"It's definitely a decision I regret," he told MMA Fighting. "If I would have known what would happen I definitely wouldn't have done it. But I had money issues and I needed help. I went there to do pictures, and they started throwing pretty high numbers in front of me. I didn't really think. It was a big mistake."

But no matter the size of the mistake, it was one he made no effort to escape on the eve of his biggest opportunity. On his audition tape for TUF, he included an introduction that mentioned all about his past. Everything.

"I think it's a little bit courageous for both of us," he said of the UFC's decision to include him on the show. "I could just hide in a hole and no one would know except for the people close to me. And to them, I was up front. I let them know right away so it wasn’t anything that could come back and bite them in the butt. I think maybe they respected that a little bit. I think some people judge against it, some people will be OK with it. Some people will want me to get my butt kicked, and hopefully others will respect what I'm trying to do."

Said UFC Dana White last October: "I'll tell you right now, if there was a gay fighter in UFC, I wish he would come out. I could care less if there's a gay fighter in the UFC. There probably is and there's probably more than one."

Yahoo! Sports asks: "What will be the reaction from fans, hardcore and casual one this blows up on the blogosphere? The 25-year-old Cochrane is 10-2 in MMA and posted a win over former WEC lightweight champ Jamie Varner in September."

Dakota Cochrane Discusses Controversial Past as He Prepares to Chase UFC Dream [mma fighting]

UFC President Dana White Says There's 'Probably More than One' Gay Fighter and 'I Wish He Would Come Out'

In mid-October, I posted about a letter written to Anheuser-Busch by longtime gay activist Cleve Jones, Stonewall Democratic Club of Southern Nevada Chair Derek Washington, Culinary Workers Union President Geoconda Arguello-Kline,  Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network of Southern Nevada Co-Chair Howard Watts III, and Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada activist Laura Martin urging them to drop sponsorship of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) over the organization's failure to address homophobic behavior by its leaders and athletes.

Looks like UFC President Dana White is feeling the heat.

In an interview with USA Today White said he regrets his past homophobic remarks:

"If you guys look at all the stuff that I've said over the last 10 years -- some of it stupid, some of it whatever -- that's the one that bothers me. That's the only one that bothers me -- the fact that these losers from the Culinary Union can go out and say that I'm a homophobe and things like that -- because it's the furthest thing from the truth."

He also said that the UFC should not bear responsibility for remarks by individuals:

"You're dealing with human beings. Everybody makes mistakes and everybody does things that are wrong sometimes. ... We do the best we can do. How do you really think that we could possibly police 375 fighters and try to control everything they say?"

He also says he wishes a fighter would come out:

"I'll tell you right now, if there was a gay fighter in UFC, I wish he would come out. I could care less if there's a gay fighter in the UFC. There probably is and there's probably more than one."

Anheuser-Busch Urged to Drop Sponsorship of Homophobic 'Ultimate Fighting Championship' (UFC)

Longtime gay activist Cleve Jones, Stonewall Democratic Club of Southern Nevada Chair Derek Washington, Culinary Workers Union President Geoconda Arguello-Kline,  Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network of Southern Nevada Co-Chair Howard Watts III, and Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada activist Laura Martin have written a letter to Anheuser-Busch urging them to drop sponsorship of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) over the organization's failure to address homophobic behavior by its leaders and athletes.

They write, in part:

"Bud Light has been a major sponsor of recent gay pride celebrations in Houston, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco, among other cities, as well as last year’s Gay Days celebration in Orlando, Fla.  However, we believe it is hypocritical of Anheuser-Busch to advertise Bud Light during gay pride events that celebrate diversity and tolerance, while sponsoring a professional sports organization that tolerates hateful language and anti-gay bigotry."

They also detail a long list of complaints regarding anti-gay behavior against the UFC.

Read their full letter, AFTER THE JUMP...

Much of the anti-gay behavior detailed in the letter can be found here. The activists have also started a petitiion urging FOX to drop the UFC.

Watch: UFC Fighter Michael Bisping Calls Opponent 'Faggot' in Promo

Several of you have emailed about a promotional video for a UFC event in Sydney over the weekend in which UFC fighter Michael Bisping is seen referring to his his opponent as a "faggot M-f-er."

Our tipster Wayne writes that if Bisping's comment had been racially-oriented he would have been fired immediately: "As a straight man and as a fan of your site, I find it utterly reprehensible that such a scumbag like Michael Bisping would be able to get away with this. You may not know who Michael Bisping is, and you may not be fans of mixed martial arts and the UFC, but their fans are legion. I hope you draw attention to this pathetic man."

Outsports took note of the incident as well, noting that "For good measure, after delivering an illegal knee to Rivera in their fight he won, Bisping then spit in Rivera’s corner."

MMA Fighting says the organization needs to shut down homophobic slurs like Bisping's.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Ultimate Fighting President Dana White, on whose blog the promo video appeared, has been called on in the past by GLAAD to apologize for homophobic slurs.