Sean Strickland actually apologized.
It has been a little more than two weeks since former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) interim Lightweight champion Dustin Poirier was arrested in Georgia on Father’s Day after an airport incident that initially resulted in a misdemeanor public drunkenness charge.
Things got worse when police body-camera footage was later released, showing a visibly intoxicated and agitated Poirier threatening to fight police before eventually being taken into custody (details
here).
Poirier has since apologized for the incident and opened up in more detail, revealing that he has been dealing with mental health struggles that have been exacerbated since retiring from the sport.
Enter foul-mouthed UFC Middleweight champion Strickland, who initially did not want to hear it.
Strickland blasted Poirier on social media in a now-deleted tweet, dismissing the idea that “The Diamond” should be depressed.
“Dustin, ‘I’m depressed,’ bro, what?” Strickland wrote. “You’re rich and loved by thousands of people. You’re not allowed to be depressed. What you did is got kicked off a flight and tried to fight a cop … relax, it happens to the best of us.”
Strickland was not done.
“I just cannot understand depression,” Strickland added. “There are kids dying of cancer going through chemo. They would give anything for one more day, but you, a grown-ass rich man, looks in the mirror and says, ‘I’m depressed.’ Tell me why you’re sad rich man? Lmao.”
Well, after speaking with Poirier directly, Strickland has now walked back his comments.
“I spoke to Dustin and he is legitimately messed up by his actions,” Strickland wrote. “I thought he was just doing PR clean up tbh … I guess not everyone is a POS like me lol. So yeah, I repent and I am sorry Dustin. Hope Bud Light does the right thing with this one. He deserves the help.”
That is about as close to a real Strickland apology as you are going to get.
Strickland has been outspoken in the past about celebrities and athletes discussing depression, repeatedly arguing that rich and famous people should not complain about being sad. He has also claimed he does not believe “male depression” is real and previously mocked Khalil Rountree Jr. for crying while talking about his own battle with depression.
Of course, Strickland has also admitted to dealing with depression himself and famously broke down on Theo Von’s podcast while discussing his traumatic childhood.
So, yeah, pot meet kettle.
Still, Strickland at least picked up the phone, spoke to Poirier and walked things back publicly.
For him, that is progress.
