Over the last few years, the American MMA fighter has used his platform to target the LGBTQIA+ community with hateful and dangerous rhetoric.
Back in January, he went on a homophobic and transphobic tirade during a press conference, calling a journalist a “weak f***ing man” for being an ally to the community, among other things, per CBC.
With no consequences from UFC, Strickland has continued his harmful rants on X, formerly known as Twitter.
On 11 March, the 33-year-old uploaded a series of tweets in which he compared being gay to having an intellectual disability.
“Could you imagine if we saw any species on this planet wake up one day and all choose to be gay,” he wrote.
In another post, Strickland used a variety of disgusting anti-LGBTQIA+ slurs before stating that it was all a “joke.”
However, in the same breath, he doubled down on his previous statements, adding that being gay was an “abnormality.”
A day after his revolting rant, retired NFL star Nassib took to his Instagram story to slam the mixed martial artist for his comments and the UFC organisation’s lack of response.
“This guy is the absolute scum of humanity. Insane the [UFC] continues to give this guy a platform and a paycheck,” the history-making football talent wrote alongside a screenshot of the aforementioned tweets, per Out.
In another Instagram story, Nassib revealed that he tried to confront Strickland in the past via Instagram messenger, but to no avail.
“I would tag him, but he blocked me on Insta after I sent him this message weeks ago. Reallllly tough guy,” he wrote alongside his DM, which read: “What’s up Sean. I really don’t appreciate all the hate and negativity you have towards the gay community. You’re constantly talking about killing influencers and how much hate you have for people like me.”
He added: “I’ve never watched UFC or seen you compete, but I’ve been hearing about you lately and it’s fucked up. I’m asking you, as a man and fellow competitor, to please lay off my community moving forward. You’ll inspire people who are influenced by you to hurt people like me and nobody wants that.”
Towards the end of his statement, Nassib delivered a powerful message to the sports community – encouraging aspiring athletes to lead with humility and hard work instead of bullying and hate.
“If you’re strong, be a protector, not a monster,” he concluded.
Since making history as the first active NFL player to come out as gay in 2021, Nassib has used his platform to educate football fans and give back to the LGBTQIA+ community.
In 2022, he donated $100k to the Trevor Project, which was later matched by his former team, the Las Vegas Raiders.
As of this writing, UFC has yet to comment on Strickland’s anti-LGBTQIA+ tirade.
