The ‘MMA Fighter’ as the New Boogeyman

WOAI in Texas released a story about an assault and robbery charge that identifies the assailant as a “mixed martial arts” fighter.” In the actual copy, he’s downgraded to a “self-professed mixed martial arts fighter.”

The WOAI story is a good example of the current trend in crime reporting: identify the accused as an MMA fighter to turn the heat on underneath the copy and interest a growing demographic obsessed with the misadventures of athletes.

Here’s a free story Bible when writing about violent crimes. Feel free to distribute to your local horned newspapermen:

1. Unless the assailant has a professional record, he is not a “mixed martial arts fighter,” regardless of what his t-shirt says.

2. Owning seasons of “The Ultimate Fighter” on DVD is not a substitute for training.

3. Robbing a gas station with both a gun and a knife is not “mixed martial arts.”

4. Facebook pictures with fighters are not evidence.

5. None of the above applies to Junie Allen Browning. If someone says he did it, he probably did.