By Carlin Bardsley
Jason (Mayhem) Miller is all about attracting attention. Unfortunately, this time his name is on the collective lips of the mixed martial arts world for all the wrong reasons.
Miller was arrested early Monday morning for allegedly breaking into a church and vandalizing it with the use of a fire extinguisher. He was arrested on burglary charges, and found by authorities sitting on a couch on the second floor of said church, wearing nothing but a smile.
You don’t get a name like “Mayhem” without the ability to do a few off-colour things. But this goes far beyond Miller’s typical hijinks of multi-coloured hair, elaborate entrances, pink feather boas, or even post-fight brawls. This is a sign of someone who truly needs help.
Miller has well-known and publicized behavioural issues and has been prescribed medication for them in the past. He has even had previous brushes with the law, but nothing this.
Something like this indicates that the former host of the MTV reality show Bully Beatdown may very well be in crisis. If that is the case, it would behoove Dana White and Zuffa to reach out to the fighter in his time of need and get him the help he needs. It’s the right thing to do on a humanitarian level, and would also score Zuffa some PR points in the media.
Miller was cut after a loss to CB Dollaway earlier in the year, his second consecutive disappointing performance since rejoining the UFC among a ton of hype and given a high-profile coaching spot on season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter opposite Michael Bisping. He has since traded barbs with White in the media and notably in a twitter war last weekend prior to Miller’s church-going escapade.
Despite the fact that Miller is no longer with the UFC, many media outlets referred to him as a “UFC fighter.” Such is the effect of UFC’s successful efforts to become eponymous with the sport. So for the average news-viewer at home, it was a UFC fighter that went berserk and trashed a church. Not the kind of headlines that Dana and the Fertitta brothers enjoy.
The best way for the UFC to counteract any negative publicity associated with Miller’s antics is to announce that they are taking it upon themselves to stand by the former Strikeforce, Dream and WEC veteran in his time of need and enroll him in a rehabilitation or counseling program and bear all the costs associated with his care.
There is some precedent in doing so. In 2008, Quinton (Rampage) Jackson led police on a car chase that saw him hit three cars and drive down the sidewalk. White flew immediately to Costa Mesa, Calif., to post bail for the former champion and aid him in his time of need. More recently, after troubled middleweight Chris Leben tested positive for painkillers after his loss to Mark Munoz and admitted that he had a problem with drugs and alcohol, White’s statement on UFC.com was “I like Chris and I want him to do well, but based on his actions, he’s been suspended for one year. If he needs professional help, we are going to be there for him. We want to see him succeed not only in the Octagon, but in his personal life”.
The difference between those two incidents and Miller’s is that Jackson and Leben were on the active UFC roster in their time of difficulty. But that shouldn’t stop White from extending his hand now, as to the general public there is no difference between a “UFC fighter” and “MMA fighter.” Beyond the value of good PR, it’s just the right thing to do. No one wants to see Miller’s life fall apart, from all accounts his eccentricities mask a very likeable soul.
One of the things many people admire most about the sport of MMA is the sense of camaraderie and brotherhood between its participants. White can send the message that despite the massive popularity explosion the sport is enjoying, at its root it is still a community, and that its fighters won’t just be tossed aside when their time in the limelight is done.
Carlin Bardsley is a writer for MMASucka.com and frequent guest blogger for sportsnet.ca.
