For all purposes the UFC went easy on Jon Jones when he tested positive for cocaine at UFC 182 in January. Jones’ squeaky clean public persona made it easy for people to assume that it was a simple mistake and he was a man tempted by the lifestyle that surround professional athletes. We now know that Jones was not a victim of circumstance, he created the atmosphere that led to his bad decisions. More importantly the UFC now realizes that it was Jones’ doing and they’ve taken the first step in rehabilitating their biggest star.
It took Jon Jones’ recent hit & run incident to open the eyes of the UFC.
It may be unfair to lay blame on the UFC but their leniency and blind trust led to the enabling of Jones. Perception is often reality, Jones’ holier-than-thou act had convinced both fans and executives that he lived a life of morality when in reality he fought with demons throughout his professional career.
Those inside the world of MMA can tell endless stories about the “real” Jon Jones. Jon was often arrogant and rubbed many people, especially fighters, the wrong way. We all saw the build up to Jones-Cormier and heard DC’s countless attacks on Jones’ character. Cormier gave fans the first true look at the genuine Jon Jones. Their off-camera ESPN interview showed fans that Jones had an edge, yet it was welcomed by most.
People wanted the clean-cut Jones to display an edge and passion. What no one expected was for Jones to test positive for cocaine after his win over Cormier.
The UFC immediately went into damage control. They urged Jones to attend rehab, a stint that lasted only 24 hours, and walked him through his public apologies. Fans ate it up and the NSAC allowed Jones to get off without as much of fine. He kept his title, was heralded as the face of their new Reebok campaign and booked to fight Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson at UFC 187. Now we know that the slap on the wrist just boosted Jones’ indestructibility complex.
It all crumbled on Sunday evening when rumors circulated about Jones fleeing the scene of a 3-car accident, which he caused. Rumors about drugs and intoxication ran rampant amongst social media. At that point the UFC could no longer ignore their troubled star. The UFC surely launched their own private into the events but the one person they thought would be first in line to give them information and clear their name, Jones, was nowhere to be found.
We now know that Jones was at the scene of the accident, fled on foot for some reason and stayed away from authorities for over 24 hours. Even then the UFC issued a statement of patience, but the news of a felony charge was too much for them to hold back on. Their indefinite suspension of Jones was the only true option. They will be applauded for their timely discipline but in actuality Jones has had these problems for years and the media, organization and his camp have turned a blind eye to the situation because of his immense talent.
In that regard we all absorb blame and we all owe the fans an apology. We allowed a man who had whispers of rampant club drug use and blatant instances of disrespectful behavior to become a role model for children.
Jones has been the guy that we now see in these post. We bought in to a persona that we knew was false and perpetuated that for the greater good of the sport. This is why this Jon Jones news is so shockingly large. If everyone had addressed his problems for the days of the early whispers then maybe Jones would be a better person at this point. He’d at the very least have a better support system around him to help him avoid getting into these troubling situations.
So, don’t see these recent charges as a singular mistake. This has been a slow building decimation of the sports biggest athlete; it just chose to erupt these past few days.