UFC's Josh Thomson issues statement on gay tweets, blames MMA media for taking comments out of context

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight contender Josh Thomson was trying to have a spirited debate about gay marriage on his official Twitter account, until the mixed martial arts (MMA) media went and mucked it all up for him.

Shame on you, Cory Braiterman!

Turns out "The Punk" was merely trying to ask thought-provoking questions and was in no way condemning the gay community or their inalienable rights. I know that because Team Thomson sent out a press release earlier today (June 13, 2013) explaining as much.

From BJPenn.com:

"I am not against gay rights or gay marriage in anyway. My comments were completely taken out of context by some members of the media and I have since removed them out of respect for anyone who may have been offended. It was not my intention to offend or hurt anyone."

See his original comments here.

Thomson, who made his successful return to the Octagon back in April by knocking out Nate Diaz, was accused of comparing gay marriage to incest and pedophilia. I believe there was also something in there about marrying your cat, but I don't want to take anything out of context.

Or offend Toonces.

UFC fighters have been asked to tread lightly in recent months, particularly on Twitter, after the promotion released its updated Code of Conduct (see it here). Diaz was suspended in recent weeks for calling another fighter a "fag" while Matt Mitrione was benched for his rant against transgender fighter Fallon Fox.

There wasn't a whole lot in either of those cases to take out of context.

While Thomson didn't exactly apologize -- and an argument can be made he doesn't need to -- he does recognize that Twitter is not the best place for this type of discussion.

Anyone disagree?