Alright, @ufc— about that Diaz brothers 4/20 NFT drop. Seriously? Are you that tone-deaf? You wanna celebrate weed culture now? Let’s not forget who you punished for doing it in the past. This isn’t simply government contracting gone awry, it’s outrageous profiteering off systemic injustice.
Punished Then Profited From Pot?
Nick Diaz, suspended for marijuana. Nate Diaz, attacked over the coals for a God terrible vape pen. Now, out of the blue, it’s hip to put their likenesses on NFTs and make a bundle come 4/20? This reeks of hypocrisy. You can’t penalize athletes for a thing, then walk away and use that same thing to cash in. It’s the equivalent of arresting someone for graffiti and then profiting from sale of prints of their artwork.
I'm hearing the arguments already: "USADA changed its policy!" Yup, all after decades of destroying peoples’ livelihoods and imposing archaic, racially motivated mandates. The failures of the War on Drugs Our marginalized communities have disproportionately suffered the effects of the War on Drugs. It’s almost like the UFC is dancing on the graves of those that have suffered. Are we really going to pretend like the UFC didn’t profit from maintaining the old, archaic rules?
Cultural Appropriation? More Like Exploitation!
4/20 isn’t just a date—it’s a cultural touchstone, an international day of protest, a long-held middle finger salute to the establishment. Now big business wants to co-opt it? It's exploitation, plain and simple. It’s the opposite of rewilding, it’s co-opting something that came from counter-culture movements, taking and taking and then making it a soulless cash-grab.
Imagine Gucci releasing a “distressed” hoodie to replicate the rags that homeless people wear. Now, picture this—what if they priced it at $1,000! That's the same vibe. It's commodifying struggle. It's completely devoid of respect and awareness.
And let’s face it, who wins out at the end. Not the folks who were targeted—and in a lot of cases, still are targeted—by marijuana laws. Not those families ripped asunder by pernicious miscarriages of justice. It's the UFC's shareholders.
Boycott This Bullshit!
What can you do? Don't buy these NFTs. We can’t let the UFC succeed in doing this. Teach them that we’re not going to stand for corporate hypocrisy and the butchering of counter-culture.
Instead, look for other ways to support the Diaz brothers. Feed their creative impulse, get their gear, follow them on social media, and make sure they hear your message that you’ve got their back. And perhaps most importantly, support the organizations fighting to change marijuana policies and remedy the damage caused by the War on Drugs. Put your money where your mouth is.
The UFC is looking to be the hip, marijuana-loving corporation today? They need to put their money where their mouth is. Finally, they can and should make meaningful donations from their sizable NFT sales to organizations working to achieve legalization and social justice for cannabis. Anything else is simply performative activism. It undermines justice for those who have borne the brunt of harmful, retroactive drug policies.
This isn’t actually about NFTs at all, it’s about integrity. It's about holding corporations accountable. It’s about more than just stopping profiteering on injustice. Let's make some noise and show the UFC that we're not buying what they're selling.
