The Savage Truth: Jonesing for a Cause

Editor's note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.

So, Jon Jones is at it again.

That was what I woke up to on Monday morning. Social media was abuzz with all the hot takes about how he should be going back to jail, how he should hire a driver to get him where he needed to go and how his career was back in limbo.

I was legitimately worried... right up until I saw the details of the incident that created the hullabaloo. He was driving on a suspended license without proof of registration and insurance. I immediately dug for more info. Surely that couldn’t be it... could it?

Yep, that was it.

Being the snarky prick I can be, I dropped my two cents on Twitter and went back to my morning routine. But it wouldn’t die. People got all up in arms and continued to clamor for everything short of the electric chair, and all over something as benign as a traffic ticket.

I get it: some of you don’t like Jones. That’s fair enough, but people actively campaigning for Jones to lose his right to earn a living in his chosen field -- and even some hoping he would end up in the clink -- is just too much for me. What happened to letting the punishment fit the crime? What the f--k is wrong with you people?

This is the stupid thinking that would have people serving life sentences for stealing a bag of cookies. Three strikes, you scumbag -- no context needed. Again, I just don’t get this way of thinking.

I have gone in pretty hard on Jones in the past. I told you all that I saw a person bent on throwing away a ton of talent and potential because he was a self-destructive and petulant man-child who hung out with the wrong people, took terrible advice and gave about two s--ts about the consequences of his actions. Driving under the influence, popping hot for the white medicine -- even though it was a BS test from the Nevada Athletic Commission -- and running from the scene of an accident after smashing up a pregnant lady’s car are serious offenses. Hell, training about 10 minutes for his fight with Alexander Gustafsson and almost losing his title was pretty disrespectful to his team and the sport, and that’s way more of an issue than this nonsense.

Getting nailed for speeding, even on a suspended license, doesn’t even register in the same solar system as these other issues. Sure, I get it: Jones’ lack of respect for the terms of his probation... yadda, yadda, yadda. Save it. I don’t give a crap about you staking your claim as the moral police when it comes to speeding of all things.

Truthfully, I really don’t know how well Jones has done a getting his life together. He’s been a pretty good actor in the past. He had some of his coaches and teammates fooled about his “new and improved” lifestyle after his drug test fiasco a few months before the hit-and-run. For what it’s worth, I’ve seen and heard from some of those close to him he looks to have finally gotten the message.

There is always going to be some doubt about Jones’ authenticity, for a long time anyway, but it’s mind-boggling how many people are ready to throw the dirt on his career and freedom for such a minor thing. There are plenty of reasons to not like Jones; this just isn’t one of them.

I feel like I am traipsing through a sea of self-loathing hall monitors and rent-a-cops who feel the need to hammer away on every possible occasion in an effort to validate themselves. It’s as if bringing someone down a peg or two will make their life any better. Please, just stop.

My biggest problem with the faux outrage is that it distracts people from the real stories, good and bad. People want to see Jones drawn and quartered for a driving infraction right now, but they won’t even remember this in a week. Seriously, the next time Conor McGregor insults someone, MMA fans will move on. It probably already happened between the writing and publishing of this column.

We don’t spend the time we need on the bigger problems of our sport, and life in general, because we get caught up in the minutiae. By making every little trashcan fire out to be a 200,000-acre blaze, we miss the real issues or, at the very least, minimize them.

Save the pitchforks and torches for the real problems and let some of these non-stories slide under the radar. Or, if you must comment, get a grasp of the situation before you go off half-cocked. A little thought usually goes a long way.

As for Jones’ punishment, he will get three days of community service for not reporting his interaction with the police. No jail time, no probation revocation and no fight cancelation. Like I said, a total non-story.

Greg Savage is the Executive Editor of Sherdog.com and can be reached by email or via Twitter @TheSavageTruth.