Sport media giant ESPN recently came out with an article written by Jack Rossen that didn’t put MMA and BJJ gyms in a good light.
The article highlights the recent cases of sexual harassment and rape cases in BJJ and MMA academies:
A black belt is automatically deferred to in much the same way a psychiatrist or priest is trusted. In fact, MMA students are encouraged not to question authority. When instructors introduce sexual exploitation or assault, many women interviewed for this story said it can be perceived as an extension of that authority.
“I believe a Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor’s influence on a student is stronger than a doctor, psychologist or lawyer,” says Rener Gracie, a member of the legendary martial arts family and a head instructor at the Gracie Academy in Torrance, California. “They put students in impossible scenarios where they have no answer and then teach them the solution. It puts them in a position of being a purveyor of absolute truth and effectiveness. And if this instructor has this degree of truthful knowledge, they must have same answers for life.”
That deference had led to a number of students being targeted by instructors, with an alarming number of victims who were underage. In January 2012, former UFC lightweight fighter Hermes Franca was convicted of attempted sexual abuse of a minor. Upon his release in April 2014, he was deported to Brazil. (The legal guardian of Franca’s victim is currently suing Franca’s school and his team manager, Mark Wright, in a civil suit for allegedly allowing situations in which Franca could be alone with her. The family is seeking $905,000 in damages.)
In April 2014, Yakima, Washington, jiu-jitsu instructor Cristiano Oliveira was arrested and held under suspicion on a count of third-degree child rape. (He’s been held on a $1 million bond, and his case has not gone to trial.) He was the head instructor; his alleged victim was a student under the age of 18. In 2012, Oliveira allegedly had agreed to offer free lessons three times a week to underprivileged children.
In 2013, New Hampshire instructor Aldo Batista dos Santos was charged with multiple counts of felonious sexual assault against a teenage student. A mistrial was declared in August 2014 when a relative of the alleged victim began screaming at dos Santos’ lawyer during cross-examination. Dos Santos was subsequently found guilty in a December jury trial.
“He created an atmosphere where you weren’t allowed to question him,” says a former male student at dos Santos’ academy who asked not to be identified. “When the case broke, he said the student was just trying to sue him for money. But it’s a criminal trial.”
