Mo Lawal: I was out of line for calling the NSAC commissioner the b-word
After venting his frustrations with the Nevada State Athletic Commission earlier this week, and being subsequently released by ZUFFA for his poor choice in words while doing so, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal is expressing remorse.
Lawal was put in the hot seat after testing positive for banned substances following his victory over Lorenz Larkin in January. Despite accepting the result of the test, “King Mo” has denied any intent to illegally gain an edge over his opponent.
With that in mind, the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champ was granted an opportunity to plead his case with the NSAC at a disciplinary hearing this past Tuesday. The commission, however, didn’t see things his way, and Lawal was handed down a 9-month suspension, $39,000 fine, and had his victory over Larkin overturned.
It was shortly thereafter that a disgruntled Lawal took to Twitter to voice his displeasure with, what he contends, was a racially motivated question asked by the NSAC’s Pat Lundvall. As the now infamous story goes, “King Mo” was asked if he was able to “speak and/or read English” when filling out his pre-fight questionnaire.
“When I showed up to the hearing, I proved that I can speak and I can read. I don’t know when, but she got mad at me, got irritated, and was like, ‘Look, can you speak and read English?’ Now to me, that’s an insult,” Lawal told MMAFighting.com.
His immediate reaction to the perceived insult would later cost him his job, as he referenced Lundvall as a “racist b–ch” in a Tweet that Lawal now acknowledges was ill-advised.
“When it comes down to it, I’m going to be real. I was out of line for calling the woman the b-word. I was wrong for that,” Lawal admitted to CSN California. “I was kind of mad about the comments – I was offended by the comments made towards me, and I was out of line. I was too emotional. I apologize for that. With that being said, I still feel that I was offended, but I’m in the wrong for what I said.”
Whether or not his apology will put him back in the good graces of ZUFFA is yet to be seen, but it wouldn’t be the first time a fighter has been released by the organization only to be re-signed once they’ve taken the appropriate steps to right their wrong-doings.
Further Reading: King Mo suspended for nine months, released by ZUFFA (Update)
