(Chiko’s Note: Heads up guys. This is gonna be a rough one. I’m angry enough that it skipped ahead of actual homework. Full-on rant time.)

Dear Nevada State Athletic Commission:

THIS IS BULLSHIT.

Nick Diaz is many things. Outspoken, yes. Irreverent, yes. Arrogant, at times, sure. More than anything, he’s a total badass who fights because it’s the only thing he knows. His little brother Nate fights because it’s the only thing his brother could teach him to do.

But he’s definitely not a cheater. A pothead, maybe. And under the stone-age guidelines of the Nevada State Athletic Commission smoking marihuana is in the same category as taking anabolic steroids. Except in this case, it’s worse. Yes, you read that correctly.

At UFC 183 this past January, Diaz faced the man most fans claim to be the greatest fighter of all time, Anderson Silva. He lost by unanimous decision after fighting for five rounds. The fight was fun, if not a bit underwhelming by both their standards. Even though they fought for the full twenty-five minutes it never looked like more than a sparring match. At one point Diaz even got down on the floor, taunting The Spider, trying to get him to engage. It was one of the craziest moments in MMA history. This kid from Stockton had such an attitude that he would goad on the greatest fighter of all time. But it was to no avail. Silva won a unanimous decision in what seemed like an easy fight for him. He had returned to form after a gruesome leg injury. Each showed the other respect after the fight, they both got paid, and walked away. If only that was the end of it.

Around a week later we found out that both fighters failed drug tests surrounding their bout. Silva was popped for numerous anabolic steroids which are considered among both fighters and fans to be the worst of the worst when it comes to cheating in MMA. The squeaky clean image of The Spider was thrown into question for the first time, and to the shock of many. Silva had been an ambassador for cleaning up his sport and catching anyone who used a performance enhancing drug. He maintained his innocence through several interviews and appearances.

On the other hand, the brash Diaz popped for marihuana metabolites for the third time in his career. This genuinely surprised very few. He’d done it twice before, in 2007 and again in 2012. He didn’t run to the first camera and proclaim his innocence. He didn’t have to. The world was so shocked about Anderson’s positive test that the Diaz news flew pretty much under the radar, and rightfully so. There’s no comparing taking anabolic fucking steroids to toking up so you can get a good night sleep. Especially in Nick’s case, he lives in Stockton, California. He has a medical marihuana card. It’s perfectly fucking legal.

You can sense how I’m losing my cool here. Because, again… THIS IS BULLSHIT.

Fast forward around eight months. Meetings have happened. Articles written. Discussions had. Most importantly, punishments have been served.

Anderson Silva, whom tested positive for more than one type of anabolic steroid, has been suspended for one year retroactive to their January 31 fight. He was fined, and he had his unanimous decision win overturned into a no contest. In the end, this means that on February 1, 2016, Anderson Silva will be able to step back into the Octagon and continue his storied career.

Meanwhile, on Monday, September 14 the Nevada State Athletic Commission handed down a five year suspension to Nick Diaz for a third positive test for marihuana metabolites. Five years, for weed. This is absolutely ridiculous. It’s a fucking travesty.

This is political ego on full display. The NSAC isn’t the law, they are simply a governing body for sports in the state of Nevada. Yet these pencil pushers seem to get off on the fact that they get to boss around and bully these larger than life fighters. The UFC has no say in any of this. Even UFC President Dana White, who is often as outspoken as Diaz himself took to Twitter to show how unfair the punishment is. Hell, basically every fighter under the sun has spoken out against this ridiculous abuse of power. In less than twenty-four hours a White House petition has been launched to overturn this bullshit decision, getting over 10,000 signatures thus far.

It’s up to us MMA fans to put our voice out there. We can’t let desk jockeys on a power trip like Pat Lundvall ruin MMA. This woman was actually asking for a lifetime ban. A lifetime ban, for pot! I can’t even wrap my head around that one. Even the rest of the Commission looked at her like she’d popped a pill too many. But the fact that she threw that option out there will make five years seem like a slap on the wrist to some. But no. Five years is ending Nick’s career. I mean, he’s almost left the sport a handful of times in the past. Five years is almost certainly the last nail in the coffin.

Of course they use the three-time offender shtick to  vindicate their decision which is still crazy since their new regulations put in place earlier this year have a maximum three year suspension for a third offense. Even more evidence that the NSAC is holding a grudge against Diaz. They threw the whole fucking bookshelf at him. His lawyers are planning to file for judicial review, which means we have a gleam of hope that this might get overturned.

“They suspended me for a third time. For five fucking years for something that makes the whole world a better place.”

I’m not saying Nick Diaz is a saint. I don’t even know the guy. He’s probably far from it. But man, it breaks my heart to see a blatant abuse of power this outrageous. And it’s not the first one. The NSAC does what it wants, obviously. Former UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones gets popped for cocaine within a month of UFC 183. Gets no punishment whatsoever. Spends a night in rehab. Out and about the next day.

ND
Seems fair to the NSAC.

But yeah, lets end the career of the guy who packed a bowl. Because by gosh, that’s an unfair advantage.

These Commission asshats are stuffing their pockets with Mayweather money while ruining the lives of anyone who happens to fall under their tiny umbrella. This power trip needs to stop.

So, if you’re keeping score, smoking weed is worse than: anabolic steroids, cocaine, and beating women. Bra-fucking-vo Nevada State Athletic Commission.

For the record, I’ve got nothing against any of these other fighters (except for Mayweather, who’s asshole woman beating status is acknowledged world wide), I just can’t stand by and see these government douche-bags get away with throwing around these crazy punishments because a guy doesn’t play their game. If he had gone in there apologizing and giving excuses, odds are he would have gotten that three year suspension. And that’s still way too much.

“But in the end, I’m just upset I can’t be there for my brother right now since he’s gonna be fighting soon. It’s my bad he even got into this sport and he gets his face kicked in and they don’t even pay him.
I got us in this, and if I don’t make any money, I don’t have any way to get us out.”

We getcha, Nick. And I can’t speak for everyone, but I refuse to keep quiet on this one.

If you would like to reach out to the Nevada State Athletic Commission for yourself, you can e-mail them at boxing@boxing.nv.gov. I will be forwarding this article to them. And again, please go sign the online White House petition to lift this sanction.

#FreeNickDiaz