As you may have read yesterday, the newest signing to the Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) roster, Benjamin Brinsa, is involved in quite the kerfuffle.
Brinsa is accused of being a member of the group "Scenario LOK" from Leipzig and was seen posing behind a banner reading "ultras LOK - National Resistance." He was also tied to Thomas Persdorf, a nationally known neo-Nazi and operator of the shipment "Front Records," registered as a director of a company that managed the site "Aryan Brotherhood."
Now, the main culprit of all this hoopla has chimed in on the subject (via Facebook):
"I am not a neo-Nazi, never have been, never will be. At no time in my life have I ever made any xenophobic, anti-Semitic or racist statements, either in public or in private. Yes, I do have a past as a football hooligan in my youth, but that is a thing of the past as I have been solely focusing on my professional career for the past couple of years.
My grappling coach and good friend Marcin Bandel hails from Poland and I have friends from all over the world. Next week, I will join a training camp with fighters from Bosnia, Brazil, Greece, Iraq, Italy, Morocco, Poland, Russia and Tunesia - do you think I had any interest in training with all these non-German athletes if I was a neo-Nazi? There is just no place for racism and xenophobia in an international, global sport like MMA.
I've been trying to take legal action against the person that has started the smear campaign against me on the internet, but unfortunately to no avail so far as he hides behind synonyms and publishes his defamation on websites with no legal information. For the past two years this guy has been contacting promoters, sponsors, authorities and journalists trying to prevent me from getting fights and trying to destroy my reputation.
My friends and training partners come from various nationalities, religious and social backgrounds. I don't support any kind of political extremism, racism, xenophobia or neo-Nazi ideas and ideologies. In fact, I am a completely non-political person. Right now, I only have three goals in life: Being the best man I possibly can for my beautfil girlfriend and future wife, being a good example to my son and becoming the best fighter I can possibly be."
Innocent until proven Nazi!
Actions, however, speak louder than words. When that's you in the photos holding up a NNF banner, that doesn't jive with what you're saying.
UFC President Dana White is currently "investigating" the allegations.
Toni Valtonen from Finland once stated that he was no longer a racist and regrets his tattoos (take a second to google them, I'll wait). Yet, he still has his tats, despite the ability to go over them or to remove them once and for all. Saying you're not a racist while having "Born to Hate" and a swastika tatted prominently on your body means you're a racist.
Sorry, but saying that you're a banana doesn't actually make you a banana.