Texas commission head Richard Cole announces retirement

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation today announced the retirement of Richard “Dickie” Cole, who headed the state’s boxing commission for 21 years and courted controversy during his reign.

Cole oversaw several successful UFC events but also attracted critics for alleged conflicts of interest and abuses of power. In 2011, he was twice reprimanded for unprofessionalism and placed on disciplinary probation by the TDLR after he was overheard telling a racist, anti-semitic joke to a Zuffa employee, according to documents obtained by MMAjunkie.

Greg Alvarez, who served as an administrator under Cole, has been promoted to the post of interim combative sports program manager. Cole’s retirement takes effect April 30, according to a press release.

“He leaves behind a legacy of safe, successful, and well-organized combative sports events throughout Texas,” the TDLR wrote in a prepared statement. “We are proud to have worked with Dickie, and to have been recipients of his wisdom and knowledge.”

During a TDLR community meeting held this past March, several members of the Texas fight community asked the regulatory body to hold the commission accountable for misconduct. Several boxing and MMA websites also have taken aim at the combative sports program over the past several years for its drug testing policies as well as Dickie Cole’s familial ties with Laurence Cole, a highly paid boxing referee who also runs an insurance company that underwrites combat sports events in the state.

Dickie Cole came close to losing his job as the result of an incident that took place at “Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum,” which took place June 18, 2011. According to an unattributed account of the incident, which was included in an official reprimand given to Cole on June 30 by a TDLR lawyer, Cole asked a Zuffa employee if he was Jewish and allegedly told a joke that included offensive language.

“Between bouts I was standing/squatting between Dick Cole and Brad Smuckler (UFC controller) when Dick asked Brad, ‘You’re Jewish, right?’” according to the account. “Brad replied that he is and Dick commenced into what I deemed to be an inappropriate ‘joke.’ After hearing the words ‘O.J. Simpson, the ‘n’ word, killed, Jew’ I backed away. I did hear Brad say something about ‘killed a male and female.’ I felt sick and wanted to disassociate myself from the situation.”

According to an email, TDLR spokesperson Susan Stanford apologized to Smuckler and thanked him for the “gentlemanly” way he handled himself. Less than one month after Cole’s reprimand, Smuckler emailed Cole to say he hadn’t acted in an offensive manner. (Stanford could not be reached for comment.)

Nevertheless, the incident served as an escalation for Cole, who was issued another reprimand only a day before the event about maintaining a professional demeanor as a program director. In that document, a TDLR lawyer noted a conference call held to discuss his behavior with a female co-worker, which included an “erroneous, unprofessional and demeaning” email to a Zuffa employee, addressing her in derogatory and inappropriate terms, and not responding to communications.

In both cases, Cole was given strict guidelines about his communications with outside parties. In his second reprimand, he was required to apologize to Smuckler, attend equal employment opportunity training, cease communication with Zuffa employees and placed on a probationary period of three months.

While it appears Cole avoided more trouble over the next few years, the incidents may have hastened his exit from the commission.