White House Issues Response to Nick Diaz Petition Regarding NAC Suspension

The White House isn’t going to intervene in the dispute between Nick Diaz and the Nevada Athletic Commission.

An online petition to lift the suspension given to Diaz by the NAC earlier this year garnered more than 100,000 signatures, which was enough to earn an official response from the White House on Tuesday. However, that response offered little in the way of resolution. The statement from the White House is as follows:

Thank you for your petition regarding the Nevada Athletic Commission’s suspension of Nick Diaz.

The federal government plays no role in the disciplinary actions taken by state athletic commissions, so we are not in a position to address the specific request raised in your petition. State authorities -- in this case, the Nevada Athletic Commission -- will generally be the best source for information about those kinds of issues.

However, we appreciate that so many of you banded together to make your voices heard through this platform.

If there are federal policy issues you care about, using this tool can help you and people all across the country communicate directly with a team in the White House focused on responding to petitions that get enough support. For example, in the past few years, we’ve weighed in on issues ranging from education regulations to wildlife trafficking, from criminal justice reform to vaccinations, and from electronic communication and net neutrality to international relations.

Diaz was suspended for five years and fined $165,000 for testing positive for marijuana following his UFC 183 loss to Anderson Silva, his third positive test in Nevada. Only one of the three samples the fighter submitted at UFC 183 was above the minimum threshold for marijuana in the state.

Although the White House was not able to help his cause, Diaz and his team are reportedly in talks with the NAC to reduce his punishment to an 18-month suspension and $100,000 fine.