Some of you might have wondered about this FanPost issuing an apology and retraction of this FanPost. Here's the correspondence which led to that retraction, Mr. Lynch was thoughtful enough to cc the Bloody Elbow editorial staff.
Matt,
Do you have any intention of issuing a public retraction to the below article, given that you are well aware that the statements "Under the recommendation of Pat Miletich WAMMA enacted the rule that to be eligible to be in the top 10 in a weight class you have to have fought a top 10 contender in the last 6 months" and "So since BJ Penn had not fought a top 10 contender since 5/24/08 WAMMA voters can no longer vote for him in the WAMMA lightweight rankings" are both completely false?
Michael B. Lynch
Chief Operating Officer & Secretary
World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts
And following Matt's response:
Matt:
Thanks for taking time to respond.
This is not an attempt to chill your right to free speech. However, libel is not free speech. In my opinion as a trial attorney for over 12 years (although be no means an expert on 1st Amendment law), your article crossed the legal line notwithstanding your attempt to cover yourself which was woefully insufficient. If you wanted to write a so-called comedy piece or parody piece, you should have identified it as such openly and upfront. There is lots of stuff on the Net about WAMMA, both positive and negative, and as long as folks have the facts straight I have no problem with divergence in opinion. On a personal note, I have always taken ample time to answer any of your emails and find your article harmful and just plain spiteful, to be frank.
I would suggest that your lawyer contact our attorney Pete Kaufman, Esq. I will not lecture you on the law (I will let your lawyer do that). I would also suggest a refresher course in journalism and professional 101.
That being said, a simple, public retraction within the next 24 hours (to give you time to contact your attorney and he ours, if you seek that route) that your both statements attributed to Pat and WAMMA's Ranking policy had no basis in fact, and you apologize for any confusion, will completely suffice and I will deem the matter concluded. This retraction must take the form of another fan post with your retraction (a comment to your original post will not suffice).
Please be guided accordingly.
Mike
Let Mike Lynch know what you think in the comments.
UPDATE by Brent Brookhouse: I'm upset by WAMMA's behavior in this situation. These were guys that I did have some respect for when I first spoke to them and I thought that their hearts are in the right place but were just fighting a losing battle. The truth is, they're the same kind of guys that make pathetic money grabs in every sport. I've covered this in a previous piece that I wrote and I'll ask you all to check it out again.
The truth is, Mike Lynch, Dave Szady and yeah, even Pat Miletich need to realize that you don't get anywhere in this sport without the fans behind you. Their attitude is that the fans and MMA community at large don't matter...as long as they can get some promotions behind them, they'll be just fine. But that isn't the case and unless they change their ways they'll likely be realizing it in ten years when we're all looking back on WAMMA as nothing more than the answer to a trivia question.