It’s been nearly one month since Nikita Hand won her civil case against Conor McGregor. Winning this case meant Conor McGregor was found by a jury to have sexually assaulted Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel in 2018 and he would be forced to pay nearly €250,000 in damages.
What followed was a long overdue boycott of McGregor brands and the end of deals which used his image.
But one major brand stood aside from this movement and did nothing. EA Sports.
The Conor McGregor Boycott
In the immediate aftermath of the High Court ruling against McGregor, brands because to distance themselves from the former UFC fighter. McGregor had used his fame over the years to grow and sell his Proper No. Twelve whiskey brand but had since expanded further. Forged Irish Stout had grown in popularity, both on tap in a selection of pubs and in cans from off-licenses.
The company that had bought McGregor’s stake in Proper No. Twelve, but continued to use his likeness, dropped McGregor from the brand’s marketing collateral. Asda, Tesco, SuperValu, Centra, and others stopped selling Forged Irish Stout and Proper No. Twelve whiskey in a boycott affecting hundreds of outlets across Ireland and the UK.
Far from being a beacon of morality normally, JD Wetherspoon removed the stout from its Irish pubs, while both Dublin and Cork airport bars ceased selling McGregor’s products.
Closer to our wheelhouse of tech, IO Interactive removed McGregor’s likeness from their Hitman game. The game developer acted swiftly to distance themselves from McGregor, which left me believing it would only be a matter of time until EA Sports released a similar statement.
EA Sports Refuse to Drop Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor is the former face of EA Sports’ UFC gaming franchise. For years, McGregor was the up-and-coming star of one of the world’s fastest growing sports companies. Understandably so. McGregor was a sporting phenomenon in his prime, but his acts since rising to fame leave him outside the space of potentially “separating art and artist”.
What he has done is unforgivable and reprehensible. This is the same man that reportedly punched an elderly man in a Dublin pub for not wanting to drink his whiskey. The warning signs were there, long before the sexual assault case, for us as the public and brands wanting to capitalise on McGregor’s fame.
Yet, as recently as October this year, EA Sports was capitalising on McGregor’s fame by promoting a legacy version of him as a playable fighter in UFC 5.
Before IO Interactive dropped McGregor, I had reached out to EA Sports through the usual media channels to ask if they would be making a statement on the matter. I was informed there were internal discussions and that any statement would take time owing to the involvement of the wider EA Sports teams in the U.S. I gave it plenty of time given any statement would be difficult to work towards legally. McGregor, being a massive figure still in UFC, would mean lots of legal agreements were in place causing a world of difficulties to unload him.
I’ll admit that to take such an action would be a lengthy legal process for EA Sports, but I still assumed that was in the works given the public outcry for action against McGregor.
No statement came.
I now assume no statement will come, as EA Sports have stood by and continued to retain McGregor for UFC 5.
Why EA Sports Didn’t Drop McGregor
It’s disappointing to see one of the world’s biggest game developers stand by and do absolutely nothing in a scenario like this.
I can only speculate as to why. EA Sports has made strides for women in sport in recent years, adding the Women’s World Cup and women’s characters in Ultimate Team. So why would they retain Conor McGregor, who was found by a jury to have sexually assaulted Nikita Hand?
I can only speculate, given that EA Sports has not addressed the issue. But I have some theories.
UFC has a very difference fan base to the likes of EAFC game (formerly better known simply as FIFA). It doesn’t have anywhere near the reach of the soccer game. UFC itself doesn’t have that kind of reach either, and so EA Sports likely decided it was easier not to upset the fan base the UFC game has be removing “an icon” from the playable roster.
Rather than stand with women, EA Sports chose the “easy option” of doing nothing and hoped it would blow over. I’m not going to put too much into the fact than I’m writing this article because it would appear their approach worked. No one has mentioned the inaction from EA Sports.
Secondly, it’s possible that UFC themselves dug their heels in over dropping McGregor. I have to admit, I’m not overly sure whether EA Sports even truly considered dropping McGregor. If the idea was put to UFC, it’s possible that they resisted EA Sports dropping one of the best known faces on their roster. Even if it’s been years since he fought and he may never fight again, it remains that McGregor is expected to return to the octagon as some stage, however unlikely that may actually be.
Unfortunately, without a statement from EA Sports, all that remains is speculation. McGregor’s senior counsel said an appeal was “highly likely”, so could EA Sports be waiting to see what happens there?
For me, that would still be little too late from a brand that has a company values page in complete contradiction of supporting someone like McGregor.
Publicly distancing itself from McGregor—either by issuing a statement or terminating contracts—would align more closely with its stated values and commitments to inclusivity, integrity, and a welcoming community. Whether that happens or not, time will tell.
