Volkmann visited by Secret Service after Pres. Obama remarks

UFC fighter Jacob Volkmann was visited by U.S. Secret Service agents on Tuesday after his post-fight interview Saturday night with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani. “Christmas” started the new year off by answering questions about his interview where he said “someone should knock some sense into that idiot (President Obama).”

MMA Weekly has the details:

The interview was a formal process due to any potential threat made against the President, but it should be the close of the matter for Volkmann. The reason for the investigation wasn’t because of the original interview after his fight, but because someone alerted the authorities about a ‘threat’ that was made.

Here is the post-fight interview via MMA Fighting:

Payout Perspective:

If you are a prelim fighter in the UFC trying to make a name for yourself, how do you make yourself standout from the other hungry UFC fighters.  1. Get an innovative nickname.  Christmas.  Check. 2. Win a fight where you are an underdog. Check. 3. Give a great post-fight analysis of your fight in an interview.  Check. 4. Call out the President of the United States. On top of that, let the world know that “someone should knock some sense into that idiot”. 

As Ariel Helwani pointed out, Volkmann seemed most passionate about politics rather than his next opponent. Volkmann defended his statement as he is a chiropractor and the President’s new health care initiative has hurt his practice due to denied claims by insurance companies. So, perhaps his rant was personal to him since he appears to be affected by the new rules set in place by the administration.

Obviously, calling out the President and threatening physical violence is not a smart move. It was not surprising that Volkmann was visited by Secret Service agents although the visit was precipitated by a complaint about the interview.

This is a great example of why fighters need media training to avoid situations like this. The post-fight interview may not be the best place to tie-in a political message (unless you are paid to do so). Perhaps Volkmann can head an advocacy group for chiropractors. Volkmann should have stuck with the topic at hand…who he wanted to fight next.  Although colorful, off the cuff political rants in the sports arena should be left to the likes of Charles Barkley.