Endeavor at presstime is trading on the NYSE at $22.04, up 4% from the close of business yesterday. CNBC.com's Lillian Rizzo reported Endeavor yesterday "saw its shares fall" nearly 6% after a video came out showing UFC President Dana White "slapping his wife." The video published by TMZ this past week showed White "getting into an altercation with his wife, Anne, at a New Year’s Eve party in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico." White "issued a public apology Monday." Anne White also "issued a separate statement to TMZ," calling it a "isolated incident." Dana White is "synonymous with UFC," having served as its president since 2001 (CNBC.com, 1/3).
TIME TO STEP AWAY: YAHOO SPORTS' Kevin Iole wrote of "all the good White has done in this world," he "undid a lot of it when he chose to slap back after his wife first slapped him." Two words "no man ever wants to have attached to his name -- domestic abuser -- will follow him forever." White will "lose the respect of a lot of those who once were his fans and who looked up to him in building the UFC into a global sports powerhouse." White "made a mistake," and a "significant one at that." He should "step away from the UFC for a month or so" to "not only make things right with himself and his family, but to find ways to lend his name to efforts to combat domestic violence." White "has a bully pulpit and when he speaks, people listen," so he should "step away briefly to sort out his personal life, reflect on why he drunkenly slapped his wife in public and, most importantly, to craft a plan to deliver a message about the insidiousness of domestic violence." White "doesn't need to be at a podium right now promoting fights." Long-term, he is "critical to the UFC's success," but in the short term, there are "plenty who can fill his place while White figures out how to right this wrong" (YAHOO SPORTS, 1/3).
SOME DISCIPLINE IS NEEDED: ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, who called White a personal friend, said he should face whatever discipline "he would impose on someone he oversees, because that would be consistent with who he is.” ESPN’s Molly Qerim said she can “see him doing something even stricter” in terms of disciplinary action “because he’s the leader.” Qerim: “I’m not part of that whole cancel culture and I don’t judge people by their worst moments” (“First Take,” ESPN, 1/4).
