Raquel Pennington didn't like Sean Strickland's antics ahead of UFC 297, but she took time to discuss how his mockery could be interpreted as hate speech.
Entering UFC 297 as the undisputed middleweight champion, Sean Strickland was on top of the world. Loud as ever, he showed up at media day wearing a shirt that proclaimed, “There's a woman in every kitchen and a gun in everyone's hand.” But that was just the beginning, and he would later spout a number of comments that some may perceive as homophobic.
In a conversation with Low Kick MMA Reporter Mike Owens, Raquel Pennington was scheduled to touch on her experience at UFC 297 fight week and address comments received.
Raquel Pennington draws the line between free speech and hate speech
“Everyone has their own opinion and it's natural for them to have their own opinions and how they feel,” Pennington began, speaking as an openly gay woman. “But you're not going to tell me how to live my life, and I'm not going to tell you how to live yours.'' I don't feel like…he wants to talk about female fighters, but we're staying here.”
“While I can respect the UFC for providing a platform where there is free speech and allowing athletes to be who they are, I feel there is a big difference between free speech and hate speech. And that point ( There were a lot of interesting things about him (hate speech)…he's always saying all these big things and bad things in front of the camera, and he's always letting his mouth slip, but when you actually look at him, he doesn't look at other people. Direction.”
Raquel Pennington went on to say that being said on such a big platform can have a negative emotional impact on some people. Strickland says it's “heartbreaking” to say something like that on a platform like the UFC. However, 'Rocky' insisted that 'hate speech' would never interfere with her work inside the cage.
What do you think about Sean Strickland's comments that border on hate speech?
