TUF Comments Go Too Far

This weeks episode of The Ultimate Fighter aired on SpikeTV displayed one of the most incomprehensible and unbelievable acts in the series existence. I'm not one to typically comment on the show, but, this weeks events can not be overlooked.

During the early moments of the show, we the fans get a chance to understand and appreciate one of the fighter's more delicate situations. Charlie Radar, a fighter eliminated in the competition explains to friend and teammate Chuck O'Neil that his ex-partner had taken his kids and forbids him to be in contact with them. Going in to detail he tells that he has not seen his beloved son in a year and a half due to the unfortunate circumstance and that his participation in the competition will help pay lawyer fees and child support in order to regain custody of his young son. A sincere and obviously delicate situation. I, even as a product of divorce myself, can not begin to fathom the pain that Radar's predicament would make a parent feel. That is why the next part of this story is not only disgusting, but emotionally paralyzing.

Team Lesnar stand-out and fellow semi-finalist, Tony Ferguson took to partying after his victory over Ryan McGillivray - as I'm sure most of us would - and when Radar spilled his beer on Ferguson the two took to some apparently playful wrestling. After leaping through a glass coffee table - no one was injured - Ferguson pinned Radar to a sofa and thrust his forearm into his teammates neck. Radar then managed to get back to his feet only to meet Ferguson in an aggressive and offensive stance, Radar, hoping to quell the highly tense stand-off, tried to calm Ferguson down with nothing more than kind words and apologies. This is where things get hard to watch.

In a fit of rage, Ferguson begins to repeat "...where's your son now?" in the face of Radar. The two, being restrained by the rest of the house shout back and forth at eachother with the entire house taking to the aid of Radar. With an entire gang of extremely astonished fighters pushing and screaming at Ferguson, the beligerant drunk walks away; not without causing another outbreak of psychotic behavior before the teams go to bed - by chanting the abovementioned quote.

The next morning, when sobriety had sunken in, Ferguson was confused to find his teammates still writhing with hatred for the fighter. Ferguson had forgotten what he had said. Once reminded though, all he could muster to say was "yeah...where IS your kid now?." In the most heart touching moment of the season, Radar's team rallied behind him and cast Ferguson out of the room to live in solitude for the time being.

It is not a level of compassion that one must strive for to empathize for a man that has had the bearing of happiness and love in his life ripped from him. It is not a trait shared only by great men. It is not something you can blame on the booze, no. Displaying this kind of savage emotional diconnect is that on par with the sociopaths that deserve the world to turn a blind eye to their OWN suffering. If not for the polarizing figures we all are to this deviant and disgusting man, that would be as simple as showing this clip to the world. However, Tony Ferguson, we won't do that. We will not kick you out of the tournament and relieve you of your chance at a 6 figure contract to do what you love every day, no, instead we will all look at what you've done and cheer as loud as we can for whoever is punching you square in the face. For it is not people like you that define the rest of us, but people like you that show how great the rest of us are.

Thank you Mr. Ferguson for competing your hardest, thank you for entertaining us with an incredible upkick knockout and thank you for showing the world what the other side of compassion, the other side of love and the other side of empathy looks like; so we will never go there ourselves.