Schaub offers genuine apology for remarks on race

A recent UFC Tonight panel was composed of Karyn Bryant, Tyron Woodley, and Yves Edwards. It’s a fight media dream team. Unfortunately, former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub saw one thing.

Is that the best panel possible? Or are you just trying to check off the boxes?” he asked. “We get it, UFC Tonight on FOX, you’re not racist, we get it you have an all-black panel. Whoa, we get it. We get it man. Now I’m going to ask you again, are those the best brains and speakers for the art, for the general audience?

To answer Schaub’s question, yes.

“Yo Brendan Schaub what’s this bulls*** you running your mouth about?” Edwards tweeted.

Schaub rightly apologized.

“Bad job on my part,” he tweeted. “That’s on me. I love you guys. Watch all of the shows. My bad. I’m sorry.”

Edwards characteristically took the high road.

“I appreciate your apology,” he replied. “I wasn’t assuming or insinuating you are racist. Don’t sweat that, that’s not a thing.”

However, during an appearance on The Luke Thomas Show Schaub indicated Edwards had admitted a mistake and suggested his response was fueled by insecurity over getting his job due to race.

I think Yves was upset because of something that he sees in himself,” said Schaub. “So when I made that comment he thinks it’s about him in particular and he lashed out. … People think I have animosity towards UFC Tonight, I’m in a different lane, man. If that was my goal, I would take it over.”

Edwards was again not impressed and tweeted a screenshot showing that Schaub was mischaracterizing their communication.

“Don’t pretend your opinion of me is mine of myself,” wrote Edwards. “It makes you look like a self-righteous a**hole.”

Now during a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience MMA Show, Schaub apologized, again.

I couldn’t even tell you the point I was trying to make, said Schaub as transcribed by Jed Meshew for MMA Fighting. If someone was like, ‘I’ll give you a million dollars to tell me the point you were trying to make,’ I’d be like, ‘I forget.’ I remember I had Kevin Lee on and before that I was 20 minutes deep on why I think DC, besides you, as a commentator and why he’s the future of the sport. Before that show me and Bryan were talking about something with race and men and women and somehow that entered my brain.

I have no animosity towards UFC Tonight. It’s one of my favorite shows. I’ve worked with Karyn Bryant for over 10 years. She’s a good friend. Woodley, DC, Kenny Florian’s a good friend. Bisping’s a good buddy. . . It makes zero sense. . .

Yves was upset. . . So then I sent Yves a text and I thought it was squashed and I was doing PR for my show and someone brought it up and I went, ‘Again, I meant no offense. I come up with about 10 hours of content a week. I can’t even tell you what I was saying. I messed up. Whoever had problems with it, if it’s Yves Edwards, that’s his own insecurities.’ That was so stupid. I couldn’t even tell you what he should be insecure about. It makes no sense.

Again, I don’t know Yves that well at all, but I lost sleep over this. Like, ‘Oh my god, what am I doing?’ I have respect for him. He’s a pioneer at 155. Again, I love all the people at UFC Tonight. I watch the show all the god damn time.

It makes no sense. I apologize to Yves. It’s all good. I told him there’s an open-door policy if he wants to come on my show, we can talk about it there.

I put my foot in my mouth and I hate to tell you, it’s probably gonna happen again. I wish I could say it’s not but it’s probably gonna happen again. Sometimes you take some swings and you miss. I can’t even tell you what ball I was trying to hit. I was taking swings at balls, and I didn’t even know what I was hitting. Sometimes that s*** happens.

Let’s hope Schaub doesn’t stay true to form here.