A Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) flyweight fighter didn’t hold back when asked about the backlash he received after wearing shorts with his name in rainbow letters.
Jeff Molina, who is straight, posted a tweet at the start of Pride Month saying, “Pretty sick the @ufc is letting us rep for pride month!! Get your pride gear @ufcstore ️”
Pretty sick the @ufc is letting us rep for pride month!! Get your pride gear @ufcstore ️ pic.twitter.com/nEbJZSuLWr
— Jeff Molina (@jmolina_125) June 1, 2022
He included a video of his new shorts, with his name in rainbow letters.
UFC has also released a Pride Month t-shirt, with proceeds going to an LGBTQ Center in Southern Nevada.
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Predictably, some UFC fans did not react well. Some online said they wouldn’t be watching UFC for the duration of June while others asked: “What about Straight Month?”. Another said, “Ain’t no one wants to see those ugly ass shorts, and Molina is a bozo, he will forever be known as the gay shorts guy.”
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Molina, 24, followed it up with another tweet on June 2, saying, “To all the dudes sliding in my DM’s I’m a straight guy but pshhh I’m flattered! ☺️ For all the homophobic dudes upset by me repping pride month on my fight kit y’all some fruit cups ”
On Saturday, Molina fought Zhalgas Zhumagulov in Las Vegas. He wore the shorts with his name in rainbow colors.
Molina won the fight and was asked about the shorts during a post-fight press briefing.
You can watch below.
Jeff Molina goes *off* about the negative comments he received for wearing UFC’s pride month shorts.
“I just thought in 2022 people would be a little more open-minded and not pieces of sh*t. But I guess I was wrong.”#UFCVegas56 | Full video: https://t.co/mOxnqIFGCb pic.twitter.com/aKeVUUeXyg
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) June 5, 2022
“Man, who’d have thunk it, in 2022 … Who the fuck cares, bro?” said Molina. “It’s not even about being an ally — I’m not saying I’m not — but it’s just like, just be a decent fucking person.
“Just be a decent human being. Judging someone, and then trying to justify it with religion, and saying all sorts of spiteful, hateful shit is crazy to me. It’s mind-boggling.
“Who cares who someone wants to be with, their sexual preference, and then the irony of trying to justify it with religion of something that’s supposed to be so accepting … I was honestly shocked.”
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“I picked the colors because I thought it looked cool, and then also it supports a good cause.
“I’ll support anything of a community that’s been oppressed and ostracized for some time for something they can’t help.
“I’ll get behind any of that. It wasn’t that long ago that there was school segregation, and that was like less than a person ago, man, and the same thing with something like Stonewall, that was like 50 years ago. That’s not even a whole person ago, man – this is recent shit.
“I just thought in 2022 people would be a little more open-minded and not pieces of shit, but I guess I was wrong. It’s just crazy to me.
“People were saying some crazy shit and like, dude, what would you do if your kid’s gay? Mind your own business, it doesn’t concern you. Get fucked.”
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Kangol2
First, congrats to Jeff Molina on winning his bout. I don’t follow his sport but I will be in his corner from now on. His response to the pathetic homophobic and transphobic fans was great, and what was even better to me is that he called out how they’re misusing religion (Christianity, most likely) and reminded them of anti-LGBTQ (and racist) history, and how recent it was.
Or as he put it, after mentioning school segregation, “the same thing with something like Stonewall, that was like 50 years ago. That’s not even a whole person ago, man – this is recent shit.” Far too many people, including some LGBTQ people, forget this. Over the last few years American society has begun backsliding toward discrimination and oppression, so it is especially important that LGBTQ people have allies, including decent people like Jeff Molina who believe in equality, fairness and our humanity, on our side. Just look at the Tampa Bay Rays players who are using religion to support their refusal to wear Pride Night clothing; he is the antithesis of that!
rpok
I’m gay and I agree people should be able to like who they like without fear of judgement. If the gay community is all for tolerance why can’t the gay community also tolerate the Christians. We should tolerate all people even if they don’t agree with us.
strap2900
Jeff, there a bunch of “pieces of shit out there”. Thank you for not being one.
draven
He’s a superhero. Thanks man for having a heart.
bsg1967
Dude just earned himself a lot of new fans.
NateOcean
He encourage people to try and “just be a decent human being”, and in doing so demonstrated what one is.
Polaro
Haters gonna hate. Each step is a step for progress.
scotty
i’d very much like to guess your weight (from you SOMF)…you deserve your ass eaten for being such a good amigo. bring ezra miller with you and call it a long weekend. cheers