October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and in recognition of it, one BJJ promotion is making their stance on the issue crystal clear.
Earlier today, 3rd Coast Grappling promotor Ryan McGuire sent out a post that stated the company’s position on would-be competitors facing credible accusations or convictions of domestic violence:
“October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Unfortunately, combat sports have always had a bad reputation. People believe that because our athletes do (controlled) violence in competition and training, they are likely to harm others in real life too. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Every so often someone in our sport hurts their partner or some other person and that action is met with universal condemnation and scorn – as it should be. We have pulled athletes (and, in truth, entire teams) from our card when these sorts of facts and credible allegations come to light. Domestic Violence is especially heinous and never ever acceptable.
At 3CG, our commitment to good clean exciting fun extends well beyond the mat, and we watch our athletes and teams closely. Any conduct involving domestic violence is an automatic lifetime suspension from competing in our events. No exceptions.”
McGuire told the Jiu-Jitsu Times that the promotion would evaluate each individual on a case-by-case basis, and if the accusations against them were deemed credible, they would be banned from competing at 3CG.
The declaration has been praised by many in the community, especially in light of the fact that many martial arts promotions continue to host competitors with credible charges or convictions of domestic violence. Abel Trujillo, for example, continued to fight for the UFC until 2017 even though his multiple domestic-violence-related convictions had been made public in 2012. Floyd Mayweather has continued to enjoy an unbelievably fruitful boxing career despite multiple domestic violence convictions stemming all the way back to 2002. Even in our community that practices the “gentle art,” athletes with histories of domestic violence are still allowed the opportunity to succeed competitively. For example, Ultimate Mat Warriors very recently hosted Kevin Crane as a competitor on their event despite the fact that Crane spent 77 days in jail after pleading no contest to felony domestic violence charges.
With a promotion as large as 3rd Coast taking a stand against domestic violence in the jiu-jitsu community, other promotions large and small will hopefully follow suit and demonstrate that there’s no place for domestic violence in the jiu-jitsu community.
