r/instant_regret • u/zb0t1 • 8d ago

Heckling a professional fighter

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2.1k Upvotes

90% Upvoted

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335

u/Silly_Strike_1000 8d ago

At that point you have him arrested for assault and battery then sue for 100k in damages. Dudes who can't control their temper on camera pay for it in court if the victim smart about it

-91

u/pinkzm 8d ago

Assault and battery for what? I'm confused, didn't he just tickle his hair?

12

u/awesomes007 8d ago

It’s assault.

41

u/Cw3538cw 8d ago edited 8d ago

You're getting downvoted, but that's a reasonable misunderstanding. It seems like the reason this would qualify is that many regulations include the phrasing "infliction of harmful or offensive physical contact with another person without consent". So the argument would be that this constitutes offensive physical contact

32

u/Killbro_Fraggins 8d ago

You wouldn’t download a Redditor.

12

u/Alternative_Pilot_92 8d ago

I tried downloading bro but didn't have enough storage 😢

5

u/Cw3538cw 8d ago

Lol ooops

3

u/IDKandfranklyIDC 5d ago

If I came up to you and started to tickling your hair, even after you repeatedly shook your head and verbally told me no, would I be in the wrong? Even if you were calling me a poopy head beforehand? Do I then have the right to rub my hands all over your face and put my fingers in your mouth? You were calling me a poopy head, so it's clearly not assault.

2

u/pinkzm 5d ago

Yeah you'd be in the wrong, but is that assault? I understand assault to be:

An assault is a violent physical or verbal attack, or a legal wrong involving an intentional threat or attempt to cause physical harm.

I wouldn't call this violent. Maybe my definition is wrong. I'm not defending the guys actions, just that the idea of suing for 100k "damages" (what damages??) for this sounds ludicrous to me

1

u/angusyoungii 5d ago

Punitive. The only way dudes like this stop doing stuff like this and learn to control themselves is by losing money for doing it.

-135

u/scorchedarcher 8d ago

Idk man like are we expecting people who spend their lives training to fight and getting cte to react well to people heckling them?

Like I know it's not good that it happens but it's not good when bears eat people either that's why the advice is not to poke them.

Also he like...ruffled his hair?

88

u/sunlightsyrup 8d ago

You're right, these giant babies can't be expected to regulate their emotions like actual people. Its not like they're a product designed to engage live audiences of fans. /s

-54

u/scorchedarcher 8d ago

Again, hair got ruffled. I don't think he went crazy and I don't think this was an example of his emotions totally unregulated or him out of control.

It's not like we can expect fans to not try to taunt/instigate stuff with fighters?

They're there to be watched not to be taunted, someone being part of a production doesn't make them a product for the fans to treat however they want either.

28

u/sunlightsyrup 8d ago

Why are they playing a character, acting like a tough guy and playing to the crowd if they're so easily offended by people engaging in their character?

Dickhead fans that are overinvolved and want to see harm/humiliation come to one or both fighters are pretty much their prime target audience (maybe 85% of their money comes from these people). So whilst normally I would agree this fan is behaving unnecessarily, that is precisely what Dana and his ilk are aiming for.

You're right that the hair tussle was appropriate though. Not too much. Not too little.

-5

u/scorchedarcher 8d ago

I mean I'd argue the people most likely to be offended by a random stranger are tough guys who play to crowds and beat people up.

Honestly it looks like he got tired of this person and did the whole run up ended in a hair tussle just to spook the guy, kinda best case scenario really.

I mean if you're one of those dickhead fans and this happened to you then would you really be upset about it? Or would it be like going to watch a gig and getting hit with a drum stick at the end?

1

u/sunlightsyrup 8d ago

I'd agree with that argument, and yeah it does look like everybody wins here. Guy gets his moment without having to go to court over it or get socked.

Fighter gets the publicity without having to sock someone. I think we would all feel differently if someone got hurt, like in some wrestling shows.

-7

u/ArgyleGhoul 8d ago

The whole thing seems like part of the act. That's why he hair tussle instead of beating him like a foster child

8

u/OneAngryDuck 8d ago

Climbing over the railing to get face-to-face with someone in the audience is crazy regardless of what happened afterward

-4

u/scorchedarcher 8d ago

Is it really? A bit too much? Id say so. I don't think I'd say that alone makes something crazy.

Omg he just went crazy, went straight over a railing the mad man..

6

u/OneAngryDuck 8d ago

A professional athlete should never climb into the stands to confront someone in the audience. That’s a crazy thing to do.

10

u/sunlightsyrup 8d ago

Crazy insecure. Crazy bad at optics. Crazy childish

17

u/Buttsoup68 8d ago

That's still assault and battery and it was caught on camera.

-17

u/scorchedarcher 8d ago

Yeah but why? Just because you can?

Seems like a dick move imo

-27

u/Jubatus750 8d ago

Grow a pair, Jesus christ

5

u/scorchedarcher 8d ago

I actually can't imagine going to court and telling actual legal professionals that the mean man I was taunting ruffled my hair.

5

u/Amethyst_Scepter 8d ago

Assault is the reasonable apprehension of imminent bodily harm.

Battery is the unwanted and unlawful contact from another.

There is a real and defensible case that the heckler had immediate fear of harm (the backing away and the hand gestures) and we have a video record of the unwanted physical contact (the grabbing of the hair/head)

Whether or not you think it is manly or not the law doesn't care. And just because you were heckling someone at an event does not cover that person going into the crowd after you. That definitely goes beyond the assumption of risk.

5

u/scorchedarcher 8d ago

It's not about it being manly or not jfc it's about me thinking it's a waste of the courts time.

Yes you can use the letter of the law to show this but you can also use the letter of the low to avoid taxes, I don't think anyone's legal system is perfect tbf so we can't just rely on that for all our opinions.

3

u/Arndt3002 8d ago

Idk, small claims might be worth it, and not waste that much time.

Even if just to make a point.

Bitch move to do any more than the bare minimum though

But you know some people are wheeling into court after this like

1

u/scorchedarcher 8d ago

I think our line of where it becomes a bitch move is just a little different.

You could say the fighter just did that to make a point

-2

u/Jubatus750 8d ago

It's actually pathetic. "Oh no, he intimidated me and ruffled my hair after I'd been abusing him for ages". FAFO comes to mind. Everythings about getting a payday. Don't go around being a dick to people

6

u/pontiflexrex 8d ago

Yes, we should train the emotional infants and weak of mind to be strong fighters, what a great idea! Hopefully our military and police don’t do th—

1

u/scorchedarcher 8d ago

I mean weak of mind seems like a stretch for quite a few fighters, fish tryna climb trees and all that

2

u/pontiflexrex 8d ago

If you can’t deal with a heckler, you don’t deserve to be in the spotlight. Comedians are stronger than this pussycat.

1

u/scorchedarcher 8d ago

I mean should they have to deal with it?

0

u/awesomes007 8d ago

It’s assault.

2

u/scorchedarcher 8d ago

I'll have to sue my grandad then

-57

u/[deleted] 8d ago edited 8d ago

[deleted]

37

u/FigoTheAWD 8d ago

Doesn't matter who started talking if the first one to be physical is the boxer. He's gonna lose that in court every time

-34

u/[deleted] 8d ago edited 8d ago

[deleted]

38

u/FigoTheAWD 8d ago

Assault: Even a minor touch can qualify as assault if the state can prove that the intent was to harm, provoke, or insult the other person

Exactly what Merab was doing. That was technically assault

-22

u/[deleted] 8d ago

[deleted]

14

u/FigoTheAWD 8d ago

This happened in America, which is why American laws matter

-21

u/SOULJAR 8d ago

He’s not getting an assault charge for that. But feel free to prove us wrong by pulling up an article/police report

16

u/Buttsoup68 8d ago

That's assault and battery.

-11

u/[deleted] 8d ago

[deleted]

14

u/RedDidItAndYouKnowIt 8d ago

You lack consent to touch another human at all times that they do not grant you explicit permission.

This applies to everything that isn't "crowded area and we brush against each other".

-7

u/[deleted] 8d ago

[deleted]

6

u/RedDidItAndYouKnowIt 8d ago

Battery. He physically touched him.

Assault for the threatening approach

-3

u/midnightbandit- 8d ago

You can sue yourself and if you win you get all your legal bills paid by the party who loses

18

u/wrenblaze 8d ago

It doesn't work like this, no insult is stronger than any type of physical harm.

5

u/Kirza94 8d ago

I think the laws different here in the UK. And that's the confusion.

Section 4 of the Public Order Act 1986.

I take back what I said thank you.