Jake Shields has not stepped inside a cage for more than five years, but that hasn’t stopped the former Strikeforce middleweight champion from picking fights with people online.
Shields has specifically taken aim at the transgender community and their allies, going so far as to suggest that those who aid in the transition of children should be subject to public execution. The post was eventually removed by Twitter and the California native was slapped with an all-too-temporary suspension on the platform.
Shields has been both praised and condemned for his controversial views towards the LGTBQ community or as he calls them, “the pronoun people.” Taking to Twitter once again. Shields claimed that individuals are sending emails en mass in an effort to get him fired.
“The pronoun people are sending emails trying to get me fired. Unfortunately for these dorks I own most of my own shit and the people I work with think they are weirdos too,” Shields wrote.
The pronoun people are sending emails trying to get me fired
Unfortunately for these dorks I own most of my own shit and the people I work with think they are weirdos too
— Jake Shields (@jakeshieldsajj) May 8, 2023
Jake Shields’ Challenge to Fight Ten Trans Men in a Single Night is Accepted
Recently, Jake Shields issued a challenge online, suggesting that he would fight the ten toughest transgender men in a night of back-to-back fights, similar to the plot of the 1992 James Woods film Diggstown.
“Since trans men are real men I would like to challenge the 10 toughest trans men in the world to a fight I fight them with no training camp and no rest between each fight,” Shields tweeted.
Since trans men are real men I would like to challenge the 10 toughest trans men in the world to a fight
I fight them with no training camp and no rest between each fight
— Jake Shields (@jakeshieldsajj) April 20, 2023
Eventually, Shields’ challenge was answered by Mack Beggs, an amateur wrestler and trans male who suggested the two compete one-on-one. On his Instagram story, Beggs delivered a scathing response to Shields’ callout, saying:
“We just going to make this an official call out, but Jake Shields I will take you up on your offer. But the offer isn’t going to be 10 versus one… You’re going to do a one-on-one type match. You’re going to do it right. If you’re going to call yourself a fighter do it f*cking right.
“Like, that’s just f*cking disrespectful. It’s disrespectful to the sport of MMA for you to just be like ‘oh yeah let me just call out 10 trans men and I’ll f*cking whoop them. I’m specifically going to f*ck you up Jake Shields.“
Getting wind of Beggs’ comments, Shields responded online while posting a screenshot of his would-be challenger.
“This is a real picture from a real news article about a trans ‘man’ whos gonna beat me up,” Shields tweeted.
This is a real picture from a real news article about a trans “man” whos gonna beat me up 😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/aeiRSQRzQb
— Jake Shields (@jakeshieldsajj) May 5, 2023
Who is Mack Beggs?
For some, the name Mack Beggs may sound familiar. He was the subject of a news story back in 2017 after winning the Texas girls’ 110 lb championship despite identifying as a male. However, it was not Begg’s choice to continue competing in the girls’ division. Texas state legislation required him to compete in the league for the sex he was assigned at birth. He defeated Chelsea Sanchez in both 2017 and 2018 en route to back-to-back state titles.
Beggs was later the subject of the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary, Mack Wrestles. Following high school, Beggs went on to wrestle for Life University though he would sit out for the entire 2018-2019 season due to injury.
Beggs has turned to activism in recent years, calling on legislators to update the University Interscholastic League regulations that require athletes to compete in divisions based on their assigned gender at birth. He has also become an advocate for transgender youth following the introduction of the ‘Texas Bathroom Bill’ which denies access to public toilets by gender or transgender identity.
Five states have enacted the discriminatory bill, including Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Idaho.
Transcription courtesy of Sportskeeda
