Todd Duffee’s release from the UFC stunned many fans but more surprising was the quote taken from Duffee’s manager, Alex Davis.
Davis responded to a request for comment from Sports Illustrated’s Josh Gross. Gross reported on his twitter account Davis’ response which Gross stated was through a text message.
On the afternoon of Sept 7th, over two tweets, Gross reported the following:
Quote from Duffee’s manager Alex Davis. Great one. Via text: “Well, I’m not sure exactly what the problem or problems were.I tryed [sic] …
hard to avoid, but Dana wasn’t listening. It unfortunate, but Todd’s an ass.” Said Duffee will keep fighting, of course.
What is wrong with the quote? In the second tweet Gross indicates that Davis’ quote is that “Todd’s an ass.” If you read the two tweets together, it explains why Duffee was cut from the UFC. But, it reads like the reason Duffee was cut was because he was difficult (an ass). This might be plausible as you might recall that in the past Duffee had tweeted his displeasure that the UFC promoted him by revealing he used to work at Dairy Queen. He also tweeted that he needed a second job inferring that he was being paid enough. None of this was the case as the text message was transcribed wrong.
Over two tweets, once again, Gross tweeted a quote correction this morning, Sept. 8th.
QUOTE CORRECTION — If you picked up the Alex Davis quote regarding Todd Duffee yesterday, please make note of the following.
Davis: “It’s unfortunate, but Todd’s an ASSET and he will keep on fighting. He is a young kid and gets a lot of attention.”
On his end, Davis issued a statement regarding the statement.
“My original comment was that it was an unfortunate situation for Todd but that he can be an asset to other promotions and will keep on fighting. He is still young and will continue to receive a lot of attention.
The reporter has admitted he misquoted me and issued his own retraction. It was an unfortunate mistake, but there are no hard feelings.
I tried hard to help Todd avoid the cut, but the UFC has the right to terminate a fighter’s contract and they chose to do so in this situation. He is still a very viable talent and I look forward to updating the MMA media and fans about the next opportunities in Todd’s career.”
Payout Perspective:
The advent of social media like twitter helps journalists get the news out to fans faster than regular media. However, there are pitfalls and we see a classic example here. In this case, Gross reported the statement based on a text received from Duffee’s manager. Either the text was an error or the tweet reported was in error. Based upon the statement about Duffee being an “ass”, it might be prudent to double check the statement from Davis. Obviously, the need to be first to report may have played a part in this error.
Fortunately for both parties, they maintained a level of professionalism in a situation that could have blown out of proportion. Gross posted a correction to his twitter account of Davis’ quote. For Davis, he did not lash out at Gross but clarified the quote to ensure that his client was not portrayed as difficult. With the unexpected cut, Davis and/or Duffee could have taken out their frustration on the journalist. But, they took the high road and no one was made a bad guy. This was a very good move by Davis as he keeps a good working relationship with a good reporter.
The constant influx of texts and tweets makes it difficult for busy agents and journalists to keep up. But, the lesson here is to make sure you reread what you post to the public (we try to our best to do this here too). Sometimes its better to be accurate than first.
On a sidenote, Todd Duffee has deleted his twitter account for now. Perhaps a good move.
good explanation. this whole thing had me confused.