WE’VE ALL HAD times when someone has gotten under our skin at the gym.
It could be Beefcake Brad’s unnecessarily loud grunts every time he lifts a 5lb dumbbell, or Sunbed Steve lingering at the squat rack because he likes how the lighting makes his triceps look in the mirror.
Using the internet to have a rant afterwards is acceptable, but only up to a point… particularly if you’re a professional athlete with a large social media following.
For example, referring to someone as ‘the ugly girl in the gym built like a bag of dry dog food’ is probably taking things a little too far. However, that’s exactly what UFC star Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson did earlier this week.
The 31-year-old American took to Facebook on Tuesday to share a rather unsavoury and threatening post in relation to a female gym user he had crossed paths with.
Johnson’s rant was particularly ill-advised when his history of domestic violence is factored in.
The light-heavyweight contender was suspended by the UFC last year after accusations of abuse were made against him, and in 2010 he pleaded ‘no contest’ to a domestic violence charge, for which he was sentenced to serve three years’ probation, community service and was to attend domestic violence counselling.
Johnson has since apologised — “I’m man enough to admit when I’m wrong” — but the UFC has now released a statement, explaining that they’re looking into the matter:
“UFC is aware of the situation involving Anthony Johnson. We take these matters seriously and have commenced a formal investigation by a third-party law firm. We will act accordingly once we gather more information.”
Anthony Johnson, who missed out on winning the UFC light-heavyweight title against Daniel Cormier in his last outing, is due to face Englishman Jimi Manuwa at UFC 191 in Las Vegas on Saturday, 5 September.
