MMA fighter Radek Roušal was recently barred from competing in Czech organization Oktagon MMA due to his visible neo-Nazi tattoos.
Roušal was scheduled to make his MMA debut against Nikolas Krivák in a last-minute booking, but the bout was called off when officials noticed a depiction of Adolf Hitler tattooed on Roušal’s right hand. Additionally, Roušal had a tattoo of an SS (Schutzstaffel) officer, which was a corps of political soldiers of the Nazi party.
Oktagon MMA promoter Ondřej Novotný addressed his reaction when he observed Roušal’s controversial body art.
“This doesn’t exist for you come up to us and look like this,” Novotný told idnes.cz. “We have it in the contract, we could give him a fine. Even on the chest, he has (apparently the cap of an SS officer, the skull could also refer to the Death Skull Unit of the SS organization responsible for managing the extermination camps). Whatsoever!… We didn’t study what it looked like, nor did the photographers and cameramen notice. No one had talked about it before… We didn’t know about it, certainly not.”
Roušal & His Team Share Their Side Of The Story
Roušal did not deny the presence of neo-Nazi tattoos on his person, but he chalked it up to bad decisions made during a naive, desperate, and vulnerable stage of his life.
“I grew up in a problematic community of people that gave rise to this tattoo,” he explained. “At that time, I did not know what to do with life, I was young and this tattoo was stupid. Later, I started doing martial arts, which led me to a completely different life and view of the world. I have more tattoos that I regret, I’ll gradually re-tattoo them all.”
Novotný rejected this explanation when it was told to him directly from Roušal.
“He explained it to me,” adds Novotný. “I told him he was crazy. I’m not a tattoo expert, but how long can it take to re-tattoo this? Two days? It’s nice that he basically distanced himself from it, I trust him and I’m able to understand everything, but this is not and it can be done faster.”
Roušal’s gym Muay Thai Brno also issued a statement on the matter, which addressed the matter of having the tattoos removed.
“Radek and I have been dealing with the situation and the tattoo removal, which, according to his words, originated years ago in youthful indiscretion, has been ordered for a long time with a deadline for January. However, the offer for the match came at the last minute, before its removal.
“Our gym is unequivocally against manifestations of any racial or other discrimination and intolerance. We meet people of all nationalities and skin colors, we cooperate with various non-profit organizations, including those dedicated to working with minorities. At the same time, we also lend a helping hand to those who can learn from their mistakes and mistakes.”
Roušal remains 0-0 as an MMA fighter and is 0-1 as a kickboxer. His tale shares similarities with the story of UFC flyweight Andrea Lee’s ex-coach and estranged husband, Donny Aaron, who also has neo-Nazi tattoos.
At the time, Lee defended Aaron’s character in the middle of the controversy; yet, Aaron stated that he would not get the tattoos removed. Lee and Aaron are no longer together after Aaron was charged with domestic battery abuse against Lee.
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