Karim Zidan's Renzo Gracie article

Did yall know about Renzo's sketchy friends / behavior? Do you care? Does this change the way you feel about guys like Tom DeBlass? I'd love to hear from any black belts who would like to chime in.

https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2020/7/7/21316034/renzo-gracie-family-brazilian-jiu-jitsu-crime-homophobia-propaganda-bolsonaro-news

Renzo is an awesome dude. He's a like cultural ambassador for the current president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, who is pretty right wing, but that's who the people of Brazil elected. I have actually talked politics a little with Renzo, and he did not strike me as right wing politically at all. As I understand it, but not from him, his father suffered horribly under the pre-democracy military regime.

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Cancel culture takes hold in MMA

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The guy Zidan that wrote that article has a far left bias baked into a lot of the stuff he writes.

"Bolsonaro has expressed an affinity for military dictatorships, advocated for a hard-line approach to dealing with criminals, including giving the police a “carte blanche to kill,” and opposes same-sex marriage, abortion, and affirmative action."

Carte blanche to kill is not good but a hard-line dealing with crime is better than what is going on in places like NYC right now.

Opposing aborition is just opposing the murder of babies to a lot of people, don't see how that makes anyone some evil fascist. I oppose abortion.

Affirmitve action is racist and sexist.

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Zidan comes across as beyond biased.

Seems like the sort of guy who would turn a blind eye to all communist crimes while he rages against fascism and homophobia, wondering why there is not someone representing the trans community in the UFC broadcast booth.

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Renzo is rich and doesn’t give a fuck what this loser thinks. 

 

People have no idea how good of a guy he is. It’s refreshing to see someone who doesn’t bow to the mob.

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Karim Zidan is a piece of shit. I remember him tweeting how he felt sorry that Chechens didn't win in the war with Russia, as he would love to see a separate Chechen Olympic team. 

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A liberal writer? Honestly, I’m shocked. 

People complaining in 2020. No way. Renzo hangs with Sheiks, I doubt he cares what some hipsters write about him. I side with the left on a lot of things, but this is getting out of hand. 

Bloody elbow and Karim Zidan have been taking the political field a little too much with their articles. In the past I enjoyed their articles, but lately they are just waving their Liberal flag. 

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MarsMan -
BJ Penn Forever - 

The guy Zidan that wrote that article has a far left bias baked into a lot of the stuff he writes.

"Bolsonaro has expressed an affinity for military dictatorships, advocated for a hard-line approach to dealing with criminals, including giving the police a “carte blanche to kill,” and opposes same-sex marriage, abortion, and affirmative action."

Carte blanche to kill is not good but a hard-line dealing with crime is better than what is going on in places like NYC right now.

Opposing aborition is just opposing the murder of babies to a lot of people, don't see how that makes anyone some evil fascist. I oppose abortion.

Affirmitve action is racist and sexist.

"Cart Blanche to Kill" is the term chosen by the media to a proposed Law to grant police officers a level of qualified immunity similar to what cops have in German and Portugal (you know, those hardcore dictatorships /s).

Basically, it's another lie by the press.

Zidan is an idiot...

OP, why do you believe this guy?

I'm not saying I love everything Zidan writes (he does come off as quite liberal) but I'm glad there are guys putting the facts out there so I can formulate my own opinion.

I mentioned this on another thread:

Zidan has done good work in the past. His work on the role MMA plays in propping up Kadyrov was genuinely important. And his stories on Khabib, his family, and the role they play in Dagestan have been excellent. But, this article was very shoddy.

Did he contact Renzo for comment? Why did he include the Oyama and Spijker incident? Why did he pretend like it’s a mystery why Renzo is so beloved? He could have asked the thousands of people who are personally loyal to Renzo, including Jews, Arabs, LGBTQ people, etc.

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You have never heard one person in the entire sport say anything bad about Renzo. He is widely considered one of the kindest and genuine people in MMA. This article is a joke. Trying so hard to paint him in a bad light. He got into a fight with NYC bouncers. That makes him a bar person?? I’m from NYC and the bouncers here are some of the most aggressive steroid freAks you ever seen. I bet the guy deserved it. The whole article was BS and delivered in a context to make him look bad. 

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curious article. very one-sided representation, but some not so nice stuff. i wonder what the guy has to gain through this, more than anything

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People who talk shit about renzo have no idea what he’s actually done to help people.

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Worst Nazi ever.

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like…REALLY bad at being antisemitic.