BMW have ditched Nigerian- born UFC
fighter Israel Adesanya as an
ambassador after an offensive
comment he made in an online video.
The Nigerian- New Zealander who was
to be unveiled as the face of BMW in
New Zealand , had told possible future
opponent Kevin Holland in an online
video , “ Bro , I will fu ** ing rape you . ”
According to Australian TV network
Nine , he has since lost his potentially
lucrative deal with the car
manufacturer . A statement released by
BMW read ;
“ Due to the comments made by an
athlete online, we have reviewed our
pending association with said athlete
and we have decided not to push
forward with a specific ambassador for
the brand at this time in New Zealand . ”
Adesanya later admitted he “ crossed
the line ” and has since apologised .
In a short statement he shared on
Twitter , the 185 - pound UFC champ
said:
“ Last weekend fight talk escalated to a
point in which I crossed the line .
“ I understand the gravity of this word
and how it can affect and hurt other
people apart from my opponent,
although that was NEVER my intention.
“ I am still to growing under the
spotlight, and I take this as a lesson to
be more selective with words under
pressure . ”
New Zealand ’ s Deputy Prime Minister ,
Grant Robertson who is also the sports
minister had blasted the middleweight
champ and urged the UFC to consider
taking action .
He said;
“ There is never a time to make flippant
comments about rape . It ’ s just not
something anybody should do .
“ I ’ m sure Israel understands that. I
believe he has deleted the tweet in
question . It will be up to the UFC as to
what they do .
“ But I would certainly be making clear
to him , and to anybody actually, that we
have to take rape seriously .
“ It ’ s not an issue that anyone should be
making jokes or flippant comments
about at all . ”
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