Dana White Calls Jon Jones’ ‘Mistaken’ Test For Street Drugs ‘A Great Thing’
With more and more twists and turns arising in the dramatic saga of UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones’ failed drug test for cocaine and subsequent checking into drug rehab, the man whom the situation might affect most aside from Jones, UFC President Dana White, appeared on FOX Sports 1’s “America’s Pregame” to hopefully flesh out some of the details of the confusing and confounding case.
While there have been some questionable timelines concerning Jones’ multiple tests and a massive uproar over the lack of punishment for using an illicit drug where marijuana users in MMA are frequently dealt harsh punishments, White chose to focus on his concern for Jones instead of any public image damage the UFC might suffer:
Dana White: We’re worried about Jon Jones the person, we’re not worried about the image of the sport #UFC
— UFCONFOX (@UFCONFOX) January 7, 2015
White said that he was shocked to find out that Jones had been caught using cocaine:
Dana White on Jon Jones: “I was shocked. You worry about the person first. He got checked into rehab and then we’ll go from there #UFC
— UFCONFOX (@UFCONFOX) January 7, 2015
With many wondering how Jones was able to fight against Daniel Cormier in the main event of last Saturday’s (January 3, 2015) UFC 182 after failing a drug test on December 4, White clarified that the UFC did indeed know about the test results when they were released. Cormier, however, did not:
Dana White confirms they found out about the positive result on Dec 4. Daniel Cormier was not informed about the test result #UFC
— UFCONFOX (@UFCONFOX) January 7, 2015
But perhaps the most shocking tidbit from White was the news that Jones’ test for street drugs was actually a mistake, something that many had wondered after the NAC’s “out of competition (OOC)” designation for cocaine essentially meant they were testing Jones for something they couldn’t punish him for.
Based on the rules, the cocaine in his system wasn’t enough to suspend Jones or cancel his bout with Cormier, a fight that White said the champ ‘had a right’ to participate in. Yet White also called it a blessing in disguise, believing that Jones may not have received the help he needed without failing the test:
Dana White: The test for street drugs was a mistake. It’s a great thing that this happened. We would never know. Get him the help he needs
— UFCONFOX (@UFCONFOX) January 7, 2015
So White danced around the elephant in the room that was the NAC’s refusal of discipline for one of the UFC’s biggest moneymakers. Technically it’s not their fault that the commission designated cocaine as an OOC drug, yet the UFC clearly has a Code of Conduct policy in place that allows them to punish fighters for anything at anytime.
That wasn’t enacted in the case of a major star like Jones, however, and many are crying that fair treatment doesn’t apply when millions of dollars are at stake. With White basically congratulating Jones on his failed test for cocaine by rapidly jumping to his side after he decided to go to rehab, was it all just a public ploy to save face, or is “Bones” truly looking for help with addiction?
Does he really need it?
