UFC News 2016: FOX Sports Suspends Ex-UFC Fighter For Plagiarism Issues
Former UFC featherweight and lightweight title contender and FOX Sports analyst Kenny Florian has been suspended after being involved in a plagiarism issue.
"KenFlo" recently wrote an analytic breakdown article of the recently concluded bantamweight title fight between new champion Dominick Cruz and TJ Dillashaw. Florian's article has since been deleted, but boxing analyst Lee Wylie, the man whom he used as main reference, took notice that many of his statements were lifted off, word for word.
In a report by Luke Thomas for MMA Fighting, both FOX Sports and Florian have released their respective statements. For the network's part, they have decided to impose an indefinite suspension on Florian for what was deemed as a "critical oversight" that led to the writing of the said plagiarized work.
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"It is vitally important that FOX Sports and FOXSports.com maintain credibility and trust with their readers, viewers and fans," an excerpt of their statement reads.
Florian, for his part, has also issued his apology. He first noted that he had been "recording observations" on fighters who study different disciplines since 1997. He also noted that he would "attribute" commentary from various sources that made their respective analysis about various fights.
Florian specifically took note of Wylie's comparison of legendary boxer Willie Pep in analyzing the Dillashaw-Cruz fight. It was the same article where he lifted off his own analysis.
He adds that when he realized the error he committed, he immediately contacted Wylie, issued an apology, and made the necessary corrections and attributions.
"Your trust is paramount to my credibility and reputation, and I promise to be more careful in the future," Florian said.
The incident had drawn upset remarks from various people on the Internet who read Florian's work.
Wylie did issue a reply on Florian's apology.
"Show me someone who hasn't made a mistake, and I'll show you a liar. It's not the end of the world," Wylie said through a tweet.
