Cher—yes, that Cher—wants the Nevada Athletic Commission's (NAC) suspension of Nick Diaz lifted, and she tweeted her support to her nearly 3 million followers Monday.
Lift the NSAC ban from MMA fighter Nick Diaz. http://t.co/E5h1HYkKVu
— Cher (@cher) October 5, 2015
Raise your hand if you thought this is how we would start our week in MMA. Did you raise your hand? Well, if you did, then I will call you a liar. Cher is a strange bedfellow for a crusade against the NAC's harsh decision of Diaz's career.
The NAC suspended Diaz for five years for a failed drug test at UFC 183. The circumstances surrounding the test, and the hearing itself, gave rise to a movement in support of the fan-favorite fighter.
Diaz took three tests for his fight against Anderson Silva. Of those three tests, two came back clean. Both of those tests were done at World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited labs, but the test that came back positive for marijuana metabolites was taken to a non-WADA lab. The NAC used that test in conjunction with his status as a repeat offender—Diaz tested positive for marijuana in 2007 and 2012—to suspend him for five years.
What has followed has been nothing short of astonishing. An individual from Alabama submitted a petition to We the People, the White House's online petition service, regarding this situation. The service has a 100,000-signature threshold to meet before it can be sent for official review. How successful has this petition been thus far? It has over 66,500 signatures.
That is overwhelming support for Diaz.
What happens if it reaches the mark? The issue will be sent to the appropriate officials within the White House for official comment. Reaching the goal would undoubtedly shine a larger spotlight on the situation going on with Diaz and this suspension.
MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani reached out to Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval about the NAC decision and got a reply back from his office stating he will not "second-guess" its ruling.
Can Cher's tweet to millions of users on social media get this petition over the hump? Well, it certainly can't hurt the attempt. If nothing else, the support of an icon such as Cher will certainly raise the profile of this issue.
