Tate: Rousey should be more grateful, not a privilege to hear her speak
Miesha Tate: “I don’t see it as a privilege to hear her speak. … Without the fans and the people who care what you say, what you say doesn’t matter.”
Former UFC women’s bantamweight champions Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate had a rivalry that was instrumental in elevating women’s MMA to its current remarkable heights. Tate has retired from the Octagon and expecting her first child in a few weeks. Rousey has retired from the Octagon, and is now a successful WWE cast member. But the enmity remains.
Rousey went very nearly media silent for nearly a year following her second loss in a row. During a recent interview, she explained why.
“We live in an age of trial by Twitter,” Rousey said. “What is really gained by stating opinion on anything? It whittles people down. It gets cut and pasted ten times and it’s in headline. [Celebrities] keep more and more of it to themselves. Why should I talk? I believe hearing me speak is a privilege and it’s a privilege that’s been abused, so why not revoke it from everyone? I don’t believe public criticism beating you down is the right thing to do.”
On a recent episode of MMA Tonight, Tate took issue with the “privilege” line.
https://twitter.com/MMAonSiriusXM/status/991837806128398337
People are gonna say I’m being a hater but I’m gonna be honest, I think it’s a bit ridiculous and I think it’s very above herself, said Tate, as transcribed by Jed Meshew for MMA Fighting. This kind of attitude, this is where we butt heads. This is the point where we don’t agree. Sometimes Ronda will say something that’s humble and I’ll be like, ‘Hey, that’s a great comment.’ This is asinine.
I think this is not the kind of attitude that you should have when you’re someone who is in the position of Ronda. Ronda’s very fortunate. Granted, she’s worked very hard but there’s a lot of people that work really, really hard and don’t get to that point of stardom or financial benefit or whatever it is. It’s a combined effort. To say ‘it’s a privilege to hear me speak’ it just sounds rude and full of herself. She really sounds full of herself.
I don’t see it as a privilege to hear her speak. She owes it – sort of, to a degree – to her fans. Without the fans and the people who care what you say, what you say doesn’t matter. So when you say something like that I feel like it’s a burn and a slap in the face to the people who love and support you. She has a lot of young ladies that really look up to her and I just don’t think this is the type of attitude that a role model should have because it seems a bit selfish, it really does.
I think she should be more grateful for being in the position that she’s in and everybody who has genuinely loved her throughout her career than to turn around and say, ‘It’s a privilege to hear me speak.’ I think it’s a bit ridiculous.