Several weeks ago, it was made public that Craig Jones fired Izaak Michell – a Who’s Number One (WNO) champion and ADCC veteran – from the B-Team…
But why?
And more importantly, what’s happening with the B-Team itself?
For, it’s not just the case that Michell was fired; but, late last year, Nick Ortiz left the team under undisclosed circumstances as well.
Craig Jones took it to Reddit to explain the situation:
B-Team ownership is me [Craig Jones], Seth, Nicky Rod, Nicky Ryan, and Ethan [Crelinsten].
We hired instructors and paid them $75 a class… Despite the good pay, people felt they deserved ownership in the gym and wanted more cognition, those problems spiralled into personal issues and one guy left/one was fired.
Kieren Lefevre, owner of the Kieren Lefevre Jiujitsu YouTube channel, reached out to Jones for further clarification.
Jones replied:
I would just say that this is an inevitable part of any gym around the world, no matter the size. A lack of communication allows small problems to balloon into bigger ones.
I hope he [Izaak] finds a place to train where he feels satisfied and he can continue his career.
This is a situation where we can both be right, no gym fits every individual needs. We have personal problems that might take years to address.
We had a relationship more like brothers than friends and, as we all know, no arguments are as bad as those within a family…
Watch the video below for the bigger picture, as well as to find out why Nick Ortiz left the B-Team himself:
Sloth Jiu-Jitsu: you can be slow and unathletic and still kick butt in Jiu-Jitsu.