Issue 037

May 2008

By Hywel Teague

Everyone knows what ‘off the record’ means. Those three magic words simply translate as “don’t make this public”. 

You’d be surprised how often I hear this in my position. Many, many conversations I am part of are preceded with “off the record,” “keep this quiet,” or “this is top secret”. That sounds strange, right? I mean, these people know what I do for a living. I’m a journalist, a peddler of information, rumours and gossip. But I have something that entrusts me to people, namely ethics and integrity. 

You wouldn’t believe some of the things I have heard since I’ve been involved in this business. I’ve been privy to information as varied as who is fighting who in advance of the fighters themselves being told, which fighters are juicing and getting away with it, the shady business that goes on behind the scenes of some of the world’s most foremost promotions, who is sleeping with whose wife / girlfriend, who’s been involved in what criminal activity and much more. 

Rather than being thrilling or some kind of badge of honour, this can sometimes be a pretty heavy cross to bear. Knowledge is power, but it can also be a curse. Sometimes it is easier to not know things, as ignorance really is bliss. But to go through life wearing the rose-tinted spectacles of innocence is not only naïve but foolish. It is better to be forewarned and forearmed of impending problems, issues and crises, as it makes dealing with things easier when life throws you a curveball –remove the surprise element and it makes it more manageable. 

I hope people who know me think of me as a straight-up guy. I don’t bullshit people for fun, try to stay friendly as possible with everyone and generally keep my head down and out of trouble. I’ve got my enemies, but I try to remain as objective as possible and stay neutral in the various power struggles that are part of daily life. 

But I wonder – if I didn’t adhere to the moral code that I do, if I didn‘t subscribe to my own personal set of ethics that prevent me from making ‘off the record’ stuff public, what could I, as editor of an international magazine, do?  

First off, I could really screw over a few people’s careers. Personal lives could be put under strain and relationships damaged. Reputations could be tarnished and serious questions raised as to certain party’s working practices. But what would any of that achieve, apart from putting me on the hitlist of a couple of dozen individuals and entities? 

Nothing. Because with the power of knowledge comes the responsibility of knowing how to use it. Information is a valuable commodity when traded, given and received in confidence. Yet thrown around freely and indiscriminately it loses it’s worth, and not only that, your position in trading further information slips. Here’s a life lesson worth remembering: sometimes you need to know when to keep your mouth shut. 

I was at an event recently and I heard some truly shocking things in the few hours I was there from fighters, from officials and the old ‘trusted insiders’. I debated what to do with the things I had heard from these ‘nameless’ sources. Some of the bits I discovered were amusing, some damaging, some downright baffling. Should I have reported on what I had heard? Not all of the people I had spoken with were quite so explicit in stating what they had to say was off the record or not, but truth be told, they didn’t need to. In certain situations things are spoken in confidence without having to declare them so first. 

I really, really wish I could talk about some of the things I know. I really wish I could name the high profile fighter who was stopped trying to take weed over the Canadian border, made all the more interesting due to the fact he is the least likely fighter you’d ever associate with smoking pot. It turns out Mr Drug Smuggler is a major dope smoker who hits the bong with a vengeance. Oh, if only I could tell you who it was. On that note, I wish I could describe the details I’ve seen and heard of sordid acts involving fighters and ring girls. I wish I could tell someone, anyone, about the debauchary, the drama and the dirty little secrets that are part and parcel of being involved in MMA. 

But I won’t, and don’t even bother asking me to tell you. Off the record means off the record, regardless of how juicy the news is. But when people take your politeness for granted and treat you with less respect than is deserved, you have to wonder if they know what we know, and whether they’d change their tune if they did.