Lawsuit Seeks To Knock Out UFC White House Fight Night
The Trump team responds delaying Sunday's Freedom 250 card will 'jeopardize' the athletes' health.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship Freedom 250 card, scheduled outside the White House Sunday, now faces an unlikely challenger: federal litigation from two Virginia residents who say the mixed-martial-arts event is a “violation of the character and sanctity” of “monumental spaces” that will cause them “aesthetic, dignitary and emotional” harm.
ESPN calls the UFC Freedom 250 extravaganza a “logistical high-wire act.” The White House says delaying the fight card could “jeopardize” the combatants’ health.
Critics on the left see a “corrupt” arrangement at play and are asking federal courts to stop it. The White House, in its response, says the plaintiffs “sat on their hands,” waiting until the week before the fight to file their lawsuit.
The idea of a fight on White House grounds arose early in President Trump’s second term. Initial talk was that it would be held on Independence Day, America’s 250th birthday. The final plan moved it to Flag Day, June 14, the date the Second Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes. It’s also Mr. Trump’s 80th birthday.
That’s assuming the 38-page federal lawsuit, filed just a week before the fight, does not stymie the plan.
There is already a large UFC octagon set, 85 feet tall and 154 feet wide, built on the White House’s South Lawn to accommodate the fight. The “Claw,” as the UFC calls it, will hold more than 4,000 people. An additional 120,000 can watch on screens at the Ellipse.
Susan Douglas and Paul Romano’s lawsuit claims holding the fight at the White House and weigh-ins at the Lincoln Memorial would “corrupt” those sacred symbols. “The tranquility of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial will be upset by the blaring and likely vulgar spectacle of the weigh-in on June 13,” the suit argues. It notes that in the two headline bouts, the fighters will start their walkouts from the Oval Office.
“Beyond aesthetic harms, Plaintiffs — particularly Romano, a Vietnam War veteran — suffer the dignitary and emotional harms that come from national memorials being used for corrupt purposes,” the lawsuit reads.
The suit names the National Park Service, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the officials who run both as defendants. Plaintiffs seek either a temporary restraining order or an expedited preliminary injunction.
The lawsuit notes the rarity of UFC events on Sundays and that July 4 falls on a Saturday, when there is no UFC fight. It alleges the card was timed up as a celebration of Mr. Trump’s 80th birthday, not America’s 250th birthday.
It says the “recent revelation” that no government office or department is organizing the event is what prompted the 11th-hour timing of the filing, coming just a week before the event.
“President Trump, too, seems to view UFC Freedom 250 as an opportunity to profit,” the lawsuit alleges. “Reporting published in late May revealed that earlier this year, he purchased up to $50,000 worth of TKO stock.” TKO is the UFC’s parent company.
The plaintiffs allege “aesthetic injuries” if the fight card were to occur.
“As frequent visitors to the National Mall, including the areas near the White House and Lincoln Memorial,” the lawsuit alleges, “each Plaintiff ‘use[s] the affected area’ around the White House and is the type of person ‘for whom the aesthetic and recreational values of the area will be lessened by’ Defendants’ violations.”
Ms. Douglas says she planned to protest near the White House at the time, and such demonstrations are compromised due to security measures for the event. “And Romano has no choice but to see the offending aesthetics, as he must frequently travel through the area for work. He therefore has no choice but to observe the desecration of these sites,” the suit states.
That the UFC is selling VIP packages for upwards of $1 million is another bone of contention.
“UFC Freedom 250 is not being held ‘to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American Independence.’ Rather, its purpose is to realize its organizers’ business objectives while also honoring the President. It is, in that sense, a corrupt bargain,” the suit says.
The Trump administration response, filed late Tuesday evening, points out the government has partnered with the UFC numerous times since 2006 to support servicemembers, who will make up most of the South Lawn audience. “The events have raised millions of dollars to help military veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries and psychological health issues,” it says.
The filing also notes concerns for the fighters’ health. “Any delay of the UFC Freedom 250 bout date could jeopardize the health of the 14 professional athletes involved in the event, as prolonged weight cutting can result in heat injuries, urinary and kidney problems including kidney failure, seizures, and hypovolemic shock,” it states.
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