Rogan Should be Severely Chastised

toxic — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:18:28 -0000

On Saturday Joe Rogan engaged in the most partisan display of commentating I have ever seen in this sport. His one sided commentary during Saturday's fight between Machida and Rua was not only ridiculously lopsided and unfair to Machida, it also did serious damage to the UFC.

The influence a commentator has is immense; his statements impact how everyone listening to him views the fight. It greatly impacts how the casual viewer sees the fight, as he believes the commentator is supposed to be an unbiased expert. When commentator's like Rogan and Mir take grossly partisan positions during their commentary, it is unfair to the other fighter. It negatively impacts his image with the public and hurts his earning potential.

In the case of Machida v. Rua, it not only unfairly undermined Machida's reputation, it undermined the legitimacy of the title itself. Rogan no doubt convinced many people that Rua not only won the fight, but dominated it. Those people now think that the LHW title is being held illegitimately. This undermines not just Machida and the LHW division, it undermines all other champions by implication. It undermines the UFC itself. Rogan should be severely chastised for helping to damage the reigning champion just because he is a Rua nuthugger.

The UFC has commentators in both the UFC and WEC that from time to time simply throw their objectivity out the window and start rooting for their favorite. Not only is this annoying for the fans who can see this partisanship, but when the judges contradict the commentator, it undermines titles, champions, organizations, and the sport itself. It also destroys any pretension to objectivity that sports commentators are supposed to have. If Rogan can't contain his personal feelings about fighters, he shouldn't be commentating.

SB Nation User Blog: toxic

Rogan Should be Severely Chastised