We Found Rampage!
By Brandt DeLorenzo on Nov 28, 2007
And he wasn’t at a photo shoot for men’s shaving products. It might as well have been at the latest Nation of Islam meeting.
If you don’t remember John Philapavage asking where Rampage Jackson was in his article a few weeks back, here it is. Apparently Jackson has emerged in a “semi-controversial” interview with TMZ, according to MMA News.
This is what Jackson had to say regarding the recent shooting death of Washington Redskins free safety Sean Taylor during a botched robbery attempt:
“Black folks, when you get in trouble [and you] call 911, please sound white when you call … We all sound white when we need to.”
Why Rampage, why?! As the light-heavyweight UFC champion, you need to think before you say stupid stuff!
Does Jackson sound white when he needs to? Does anyone care what or who he sounds like? Are we pitting black against white in MMA now too? It was a home burglary and a man was shot in his upper leg. I won’t get go into the technical details of the massive amounts of bleeding that occurs when your femoral artery is severed. Let’s just say that you could lose around 10% of your blood within a minute.
Here’s the kicker, Taylor mostly likely died because his home phone line was cut his girlfriend had to find and use her call phone to call the authorities. The Miami Herald detailed the aftermath of Taylor’s shooting in this article.
After Monday’s shooting, Taylor’s girlfriend tried to call police from the house line, only to discover the line had been cut. She had to use her mobile phone to call 911, which delayed response time, said Redskins Vice President Vinny Cerrato.
Great. Another fighter acting ignorant for everyone to see. I think Jackson needs to read up on the recent positive life-altering changes that Evan Tanner is displaying these days.
Not only am I glad that Rampage isn’t getting any camera time, I’m hoping someone pulls him aside for some lessons in public appearance behavior. Wasn’t Jackson supposed to be that funny guy who played pranks? There’s a pretty bold line between funny and stupid. You can say that he was a boring champion, but at least Chuck Lidell isn’t pulling out the race card.
Maybe this is his feeble attempt to respond to the fans who can’t seem to find him aside from his short appearances as a ringside UFC spectator. Maybe there’s a reason why. Or maybe it was all just a joke.
Filed Under: MMA in Media • Opinion • UFC
Comments (23)
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Buddy it was an off the cuff remark and He referenced a P.E. song for christ’s sake you need to ease off dude. Evan Tanner was a drunk and drug addict thats a little more substantial personal issue then Rampages opinion on what black folks should sound like when they call 911 we love Rampage because he’s a great fighter and he talks like the rest of us. The day he sounds like some cookie cutter pitch man is the day we quit calling him Rampage.
NO SHIT IT WAS A JOKE…..
Ouch!
It’s funny that you mention Tanner again. He’s making more MMA headlines with all of his small accomplishments and earning the respect of MMA fans. Sure, he had problems in the past, but he’s doing more for the sport than Rampage right now.
This is another case in which history would have helped. Rampage has always said off the cuff remarks that were great soundbites in PRIDE and hilarious to the viewers. This is just another remark that isn’t supposed to be blown out of proportion. Historically, this is the same Rampage that people know and love. It also most likely attributes to the fact that he was rumored to possibly be getting an A&E reality show, and is probably going to be featured on TUF or some other huge plans for the UFC in the coming year. His personality sells, and this remark is another witty comment taken out of context.
Rampage does lots for the sport by showing that Hard work, and dedication can get you out of the Ghetto and turn you into a champion his comments on Racism etc. are those of a person who grew up around it and had to deal with it on a daily basis. Evan Tanners comeback is good it wont be great until He’s in the Cage doing what he does best.
Tanner doing more for the sport then Rampage?! Alright, I’d like to announce I’ll be leaving MMAOpinion:) A stretch, my good Boss Man.
RT, not that you don’t sound reasonable here, but I’d like to spotlight his less emotionally charged (I do the same thing, not judging) over at Fight Opinion:
“Sounds like Rampage being Rampage. When you grow up poor in Memphis TN you might have some issues with the discrepancies between the way people are treated by law enforcement etc. This whole thing is being blown way out of proportion.”
My feelings too. But “out of proportion” is tricky in our little MMA bubble. I always use the “My neighbor” reference, and he ain’t hearing about this. Another case of a couple hundred of us having an opinion, like the Nazi tattoo guy under Pro Elite contract (remember him!?)
God, what ignorant statements Rampage made. How could anyone make claims that authority figures take longer to respond to issues in the black community? Oh, wait, they do. They have for the entire existence of the US.
“Cops put a hurtin’ on your ass, man, you know. They really degrade you. White folks don’t believe that shit, don’t believe cops degrade;–`Ah, come on, those beatings, those people were resisting arrest. I’m tired of this harassment of police officers.’ Cause the police live in your neighborhood, see, and you be knowin’ ‘em as Officer Timpson. `Hello Officer Timpson, going bowling tonight? Yes, uh, nice Pinto you have, ha, ha, ha.’ N****** don’t know ‘em like that. See, white folks get a ticket, they pull over, `Hey, Officer, yes, glad to be of help, here you go.’ A n***** got to be talkin’ ’bout `I AM REACH-ING INTO MY POCK-ET FOR MY LICENSE–’cause I don’t wanna be no motherfuckin’ accident!’
“Police degrade you. I don’t know, you know, it’s often you wonder why a n***** don’t go completely mad. No, you do. You get your shit together, you work all week, right, then you get dressed–maybe say a cat make $125 a week, get $80 if he lucky, right, and he go out, get clean, be drivin’ with his old lady, goin’ out to a club, and the police pull over, `Get outta the car, there was a robbery–nigger look just like you. Alright, put your hands up, take your pants down, spread your cheeks!’ Now, what n***** feel like havin’ fun after that? `No, let’s just go home, baby.’ You go home and beat your kids and shit–you gonna take that shit out on somebody.”
That’s a Richard Pryor bit from over 30 years ago. SHOCK. OUTRAGE. HOW COULD THIS BE.
I have to respond to a few of you here so this might be long.
John: Evan Tanner has been doing more for the sport as of late. My original comment says “he’s doing more for the sport than Rampage right now” and let’s take a look at how:
Evan Tanner Helps Build a Playground
Here is the slideshow
Don’t forget about joining Team Tanner for only $50. If you have a bunch of funds saved up, you can also be a part of his corner for a UFC fight.
Keep in mind he was apparently living under the gym ring as he began to start training MMA again. And if he does begin fighting at 185, the potential for him to tear apart the middleweight class is there.
D. “God, what ignorant statements Rampage made. How could anyone make claims that authority figures take longer to respond to issues in the black community? Oh, wait, they do. They have for the entire existence of the US. ”
While I will agree that the black community does still face issues with racism and apathy from government groups, Sean Taylor didn’t die because the ambulance didn’t want to help him. Taylor owned a rather nice home – I doubt they knew he, a black athlete, owned the home in the first place. Also, if you go back and read the supporting article from the Miami Herald, again you will see that I noted the home phone line was cut. This forced Taylor’s girlfriend to call the police from a cell phone which delayed response time.
Leland: You do have a point. John has brought up Jackson’s past antics in Pride to me before and I’ll agree that he did some funny stuff. But this isn’t Japan and this isn’t about making Japanese fighters look dumb.
Rampage likely had no idea what happened in the interview. He said something jokingly that was, frankly, true. People upset about him saying something like that need to ask themselves why he said it.
D: To get some press time by saying something ridiculous? Well am I wrong for calling him out on it then? I’m not saying what he said was wrong. I’m saying he needs to portray himself differently to the masses. The hardcore fans will always like him.
Do we need to be reminded by a MMA fighter that there is still a race issue when it comes to requesting timely assistance from the authorities? Honestly I could not care less about this kind of stuff when I’m reading about MMA. I want to know about Rampage, not his inner city politics.
Coming from a poor background in a bad neighborhood to the big star of the UFC, Jackson now has the ability to become educated and share his accomplishments with others who are facing the same challenges. Instead, the only time the media (myself included) hears of him, he’s doing something off the wall.
He didn’t say anything ridiculous. Its a joke, but its funny because its generally true just as people laughed at Richard Pryor’s bit. Again, he probably had no idea what happened with Taylor when he got asked that. I think its more outrageous that there are people who think he should keep his mouth closed and simply be a “yes sir/no sir” kinda guy than that he made the joke.
Are you trying to insinuate that I want him to be a “yes sir/no sir” kinda guy? I write for a blog about opinion, Mr. Capitalized!
Honestly, I want to see Jackson act as a role model. Maybe I’m asking a lot, but it’s a Christmas season and i’m allowed a wish, right?
Knowing how Quinton is, knowing his sense of humor and his personality I can say very simply that this is being over blown. Big time.
Quinton is comical virtually all the time. He certainly didn’t mean anything incendiary with the comments, that much is certain.
This is far more innocuous than the other footage people can find of Quinton out here. I’ve got to assume that Brandt has not see the infamous video of Rampage in a Japanese Sporting Goods Store looking for “a protective cup that was big enough”, or the video of him explaining that he’ll do EVERYTHING while wearing the Pride belt. (And ‘Page goes into detail regarding “everything”) or the video where he publicly called Wanderlei a F^(#in Coward…etc.
Rampage shouldn’t be taken seriously in these instances, ESPECIALLY when it seems rather obvious that he’d been drinking prior to the interview.
And this wasn’t seen by tons and tons of folks. It’s not like Rampage got up on a network affiliate in a major market to conduct an interview while still being laced with drugs from the night before…..even though Chuck has done that exact same thing twice now.
Oh hey Matt, welcome back.
re: what you want in Quinton: It seems as if you’d like Quinton to never talk publicly about things other than fighting. What’s your opinion on Muhammad Ali? Did he not act like a role model either?
Being bothered by a reporter if he had the time to figure the difference between a legit reporter, gossip reporter, or someone posing as a reporter, isn’t really publicity seeking. It means he was asked a few questions and this is what was honed in on. Quinton isn’t a detective or a football player, so this question had nothing to do w/ him. His answer was what hundreds of social humorists do every day on TV and the radio, or on blogs.
As for Evan Tanner doing something for MMA…
Congrats on building a park. you did something for your community, NOT MMA. And I think paying money to be in the guys corner is kinda pathetic. If he can get the money, I’m cool w/ that. I just think it’s kinda silly to have someone pay to hang out in your corner.
y point is I don’t see him “doing something” for MMA, just that he’s doing good stuff in life. Jackson getting a good media interview and coming off well, like I’ve been yelling about for weeks now, actually does more for the sport then Tanner letting you take one of his classes on the cheap.
John: “Congrats on building a park. you did something for your community, NOT MMA”
It’s funny that you mention this, Mr. “MMA isn’t just a sport, it’s a business”
Why is it that every major corporation has found ways to give back to the community? Perhaps it’s to show that the organization does indeed have a human caring side. Tito Ortiz does this and apparently quite often. He’s a busy man showing that MMA is legit, hence he is supporting and helping the sport.
The masses are easily swayed by the media. The media is lobbied by the politicians. The politicians learn about MMA from the mass media (or maybe they read MMA Opinion?!). MMA needs the masses to survive.
MMA fighters and organizations need to show their capabilities of being more than thousands of fans cheering two guys fighting in a cage if they want to continue to thrive and ultimately survive on mainstream television.
D. Cap: I do want Quinton to talk publically and to act like a role model for the sport. Being goofy in front of a bunch of kids or dressing up for UFC events is great. Doesn’t anyone see the correlation between positive publicity and long term success in the sport?
Maybe I just need to stay away from these HR folks at work.
I don’t think that the UFC needs to be trying to court the 2-11 age demographic. Rampage making a sarcastic joke that everyone knows is true to TMZ isn’t exactly some mindblowing thing that will get him blackballed. Dave Chappelle did a TV show of this kind of stuff and was enormous.
It as a whole is a business, but I do not look at MMA as a corporation nor do I find corp. P.R. moves to be valid in any way. They are completely transparent, and there is a huge difference between seeing something for what it is (a means for all players to make money, be it promoter or fighter), and seeing them as a corporation (which I guess if you wanted to make that argument would be UFC or Elite XC, and not “The business”, which is what I refer to, and is a whole non-joined business). Also, a corp. is one organized function all working towards the goal where as fighters are independent contractors. They are not “part of the machine” in the same way a department of a corp. is.
John: I know that _you_ don’t, but everyone else does.
When I say everyone else, I mean normal people who normally don’t spend time writing about MMA. Ya know, “normal” people.
I relate to this personally. I didn’t get into MMA before my college years because I thought it was brutal. I thought the fighters were idiots who started bar fights for fun and I thought MMA was a waste of time.
Once I was given a chance to learn about the legitimacy of the sport and the athletes, I realized that the fighters worked hard, the sport was tough, and there was a LOT more to it than two guys punching each other in a cage.
You know what Evan Tanner did by building that little playground? He gained more fans who will ultimately begin watching him train and fight. It didn’t take much to do it either.
Relax.. a few months back regular people had no idea who rampage was. Now he has to watch what he says… F that.. WAR RAMPAGE
this “race thing” is stupid.Rampage is a great fighter as are most of the people in all of mma.He is having and hard time and f.u. people just like to start trouble.I’m so sick of hearing people base things on race.People say shit in the heat of the moment,Rampage is no exception.As far as I am concerned his comments were funny…..and I’m white…..If your so uptight about the comment….maybe you have a problem here is a dollar go talk to a shrink…..hehe
Well if you look at what happened last week, it’s Rampage who needs to talk to the shrink. Nobody was uptight about the comments, just at how Rampage was attempting to market himself when he was the champ. It doesn’t really matter right now as he needs a lot of time to turn his life around before he can truly focus on fighting and the MMA media.