Racism, Hoelzer Reich and the UFC

Written by Jim Murphy   |   Sunday, December 06 2009

Hoelzer Reich sponsored fighter Joe Brammer lost his fight at 'The Ultimate Fighter Finale', but set off the most recent salvo in the ongoing debate about racism in fight sports (Photo: UFC)

On a night that served up a number of interesting plot twists to the ever evolving sport of MMA, one of the more heated debates has been over an obscure t-shirt company called Hoelzer Reich.  Hoelzer Reich definitely plays up German imagery most commonly associated with Nazism.   In all fairness, they officially don't claim any political ideology and they're far from the only clothing company in the sport with 'extreme' imagry. On last night’s card, an up and coming prospect named Joe Brammer wore their logo shirt into the octagon for his fight against Mark Bocek.  Given the UFC’s well known micromanagement of their fighters’ sponsorships, the approval of Hoelzer Reich has raised a number of questions about the propriety of their sponsorship.

There has always been an undercurrent of racism in fight sports dating back to the first black heavyweight champion, Jack Johnson, who won the title in 1908.  He quickly became disliked by many white fans—as documentarian Ken Burns put it in his work about Johnson:

"For more than thirteen years, Jack Johnson was the most famous and the most notorious African-American on Earth."

He was infamous for what Burns used as the title of his work: “Unforgivable Blackness”.  In an era when blacks were expected to ‘know their place’ he lived large in much the same way as today’s high profile athletes.  He also had a fondness for white women in general and white prostitutes in particular.  This added to his infamy and eventually led to his arrest and imprisonment under the Mann Act.  His treatment has long been considered a racial vendetta and a campaign (championed notably by Senator John McCain) has been joined to grant him a posthumous Presidential pardon.

The term ‘great white hope’ was coined during the Johnson reign.  Boxing promoters quickly figured out that white fans would pay to see ‘one of their own’ try and dethrone Johnson.  The term and concept remained a significant part of fight sports through the years.  The dynamic was turned on its head during the late 1930’s when Joe Louis twice fought German Max Schmeling.  Though historians have dismissed suggestions that Schmeling himself was a Nazi sympathizer, he was co-opted by Adoph Hitler as a symbol of Aryan pride following his defeat of Louis in 1936.  A rematch was scheduled in 1938, and Louis became a vessel of American nationalism.  Schmeling by that point was accompanied at all times by a Nazi party PR ‘handler’ who claimed that a black man would never defeat Germany’s champion.  For that reason the rematch became much more than a boxing contest.  President Franklin Roosevelt famously quipped to Louis “"Joe, we need muscles like yours to beat Germany."  Louis would later recount the experience saying "I knew I had to get Schmeling good. I had my own personal reasons and the whole damned country was depending on me."

Later in the century, Muhammad Ali became a transformational figure in fight sports.  Aside from his in-ring greatness, he caused a huge stir when he converted to Islam and changed his name from Cassius Clay.  This was perceived as ‘anti-white’ by some fans, and he further polarized the country when he refused induction into the military at the height of the Vietnam War.  Even his classic first fight with Joe Frazier had racial undertones, with Ali perceived as the champion of more ‘militant’ African Americans.

To completely address the undercurrents of race in fight sports would require at least one thick book, if not several.  The point is that it’s never been as simple as two guys in the ring or—in the early part of the 21st Century—the octagon.  The sport of MMA is still in its infancy and we’re afforded the rare opportunity of watching it grow and become part of mainstream culture.  It’s important to realize, however, that there are still many who don’t understand the sport.  There are also a large number of people who dislike the sport, often because of a lack of knowledge or misconceptions about it.

There have already been some suggestions that MMA is somehow a favorite pastime of racists, and that they make up a significant part of its culture.  For those of us who follow it closely, that’s absurd.  We’re not ones to refrain from criticism of the UFC, but suggestions that they’re somehow a racist enterprise are laughable to those familiar with their promotion and fighters.  If they are racists, they’re the worst racists ever since the UFC roster is a melting pot that makes Ellis Island look homogeneous by comparison.  At the moment, Brock Lesnar is the only white American champion and the mixture of African Americans, Brazilians, French Canadians, Hawaiians and countless other ethnicities that make up the upper echelon of the UFC constitutes one of the more diverse rosters of any professional sport.

Unfortunately, there’s plenty of misinformation already out there.  There’s been a good deal written in Europe suggesting that MMA is a ‘racist’ endeavor.  Or consider an article from AlterNet Press entitled “White Nationalists, Skinheads Flock to Cage Fighting, Mixed Martial Arts”.  The article itself is a poorly written hatchet job, taking the racist views of a few marginal fighters along with the usual 'barbaric blood sport' nonsense and attempting to extrapolate them into a trend.  This article was written in early 2008 long before the recent controversy and includes this dubious logic but was produced by the highly respected Southern Poverty Law Center--considered one of the 'go to' groups for information on racism and white supremacy.  In other words, its a view that political decision makers and the mainstream media would pay attention to:

Melvin "Man-o-war" Costa has a classic Nazi eagle and swastika insignia tattooed across his chest and a prison gang spider web inked on his right elbow.

Costa, 26, also is a convicted felon, self-avowed white nationalist and currently the 10th-ranked light heavyweight fighter in King of the Cage, one of the most popular semi-professional "mixed martial arts" (MMA) combat leagues in America. MMA is the fastest growing sport in the country. Television ratings for its preeminent league, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC, routinely outdraw every other sport except NFL football among men aged 18-34.

Not surprisingly, this rapidly rising blood sport is likewise wildly popular among racist skinheads and other young extremists with a thirst for violence. Many white supremacist online forums have recently established discussion groups devoted specifically to MMA; skinhead gangs across the country are raising money by hosting illegal backyard tournaments; and retired white supremacist cage fighter Mike Buell runs a major MMA training school in Arizona whose logo is a Celtic cross (often used as a white supremacist symbol) and the phrase "Hail Victory" (the German equivalent is "sieg heil").

The entire article is worth a read simply to understand the ease with which someone obviously ignorant of the sport can unfairly depict it as ‘racist’. 

White Nationalists, Skinheads Flock to Cage Fighting, Mixed Martial Arts

It also underscores the most serious problem concerning Hoelzer Reich’s relationship with the UFC.  Though the popularity of MMA in general and the UFC in particular has grown significantly, it is still well outside of the mainstream.  There is much work that needs to be done to even get the sport legalized in a number of major US markets (most significantly New York City).  Many in the general public and the mainstream sports and news media still base their understanding of it on John McCain’s outdated ‘human cockfighting’ blast. 

On one hand, you can say ‘who cares what these people think?’ and to some extent you’d be right.  Those of us familiar with the MMA understand that it’s a great sport with serious athletes.  Unfortunately, it’s not that easy.  Misguided opinions held by those outside of the MMA community can severely undermine the growth of the sport.  Whether its regulatory approval as in New York, access to major TV networks or just a more widely diffused understanding that mixed martial artists are incredible athletes deserving of respect these opinions are by necessity our concern.

Ultimately, everyone involved with MMA—from the fighters and promoters to the media and fans--serve as ambassadors for the sport.  We’ve all served this role whether we’re introducing new fans to the sport, defending it against attacks or otherwise explaining the nuances of MMA to skeptical outsiders.  The UFC, in particular, has made it very clear that they want to make MMA a major mainstream sport and to do that it’s important that as a promotion they make sure that they’re not playing into the hands of those who could harm it—wittingly or unwittingly.

And that’s the potential problem with Hoelzer Reich’s status as an ‘approved’ sponsor in the UFC.  Regardless of the motives behind their German imagery, it simply plays into the hands of those who don’t understand or don’t like the sport.  The potential for a huge mainstream media scandal should be obvious and at this point that’s not a fight the UFC—or the sport of MMA—needs.  Even if Hoelzer Reich’s fascination with Nazi era iconography is purely innocent, the ‘outside’ media won’t care.  The ‘hook’ is too easy and they’d have no problem leaping the logical chasm from it being a sponsor of a few fighters to the UFC being a racist enterprise. 

NOTE:  We received this comment on the blog from the Hoelzer Reich company.  In fairness to them, I wanted to reprint it here.  After reflection, I removed our original blog post about the situation since as indicated much was based on speculation.  We don't have a 'personal' issue with HR and they deserve the benefit of the doubt.  Objectively, their clothing isn't any more offensive than many other MMA clothing with skulls, tattoo art, etc.  The problem is that there's a lot that suggests this is more than a simple co-opt of 'extreme' images.

The problem of perception is the real issue and this article more fairly addresses the possible ramifications of that without drawing conclusions about their company and the motives behind their product.  On one level, I sympathize with their plight--its not fair to paint a company with a broad brush based on who buys their product, nor is it fair to 'assume' we know a hidden agenda behind the graphics on their t-shirts.  Nevertheless, the potential problem with 'MMA outsiders' using it as validation for their misguided views is clearly there.  More problematic are recent revelations on other websites, which we've covered in detail elsewhere on the blog

SAVSCI BLOG

My primary concern is less about HR's imagery and what it means than the potential damage a mainstream media firestorm over this could cause the sport.  I didn't want that topic to get obfuscated by the back and forth over semantics, images and their historical context:

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The article about hoelzer reich clothing sponsoring joe brammer posted on your site on dec. 5th is based upon rumored forum talk, old images, and a very exaggerated article from bloody elbow. It is so not supported by the facts! I hate that these writers just assume that they can write such a fact sounding article that causes a lot of drama and issues with the companies said. I can’t stand it. I would like this article removed from your website and blog sites, and I would like the accusations that hoelzer reich is a neo nazi company carefully looked at before stating such things. Ed from westwall came forward with a formal statement about their relationship with H R, you can read it here:

http://showmemma.unfilteredmma.com/

If you would like to contact ed, I can provide you his info.

The accusations and statements you have made in the article are not linked any hard evidence to, nor links that have verified information backing up such accusations. Look at the hoelzer reich website. Read their about us. Call the owners for an actual statement. Talk to michael mersch and dana white about their personal experiences with them.

I would love for you to immediately remove the article based on forum threads’ general opinion until the statements made are supported by real facts.
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Creating serious statements with no evidence behind it can cause legal situations between zuffa, ufc, spike tv, hoelzer reich, and pay per view is
Not something any mma supporting company would do without the facts. I look forward to hearing from you, and thank you for your time.

Jamie Vine
Hoelzer Reich Clothing

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