Diaz Stunt Angers Showtime, Coker

ESPN Radio 1100 spoke with both Showtime VP of Sports Programming Ken Hershman and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker recently. Naturally, the high-altitude training of Strikeforce athlete Nick Diaz was touched upon; neither man seemed delirious with joy over Diaz’ choices. (Cliff’s Notes version: according to trainer Cesar Gracie, Diaz avoided taking a urine test because he was confident he’d test positive for marijuana. The strategy bumped him from a Strikeforce welterweight title bout against Jay Hieron last Saturday.)

Clipped from Cagewriter: "You gotta be able to show up and if you can't and you're not reliable then who can count on you and where are you going to go with your career?" Hershman said. "Either you're going to do it right or not do it at all. You only get one or two shots at that and then it's done. I don't see how I can promote and spends hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars promoting somebody who's not going to show up. It's just bad business."

The Big Brother atmosphere doesn’t always work out in society’s best interests, but in the case of prizefighting, I’d say it’s not such a bad thing that erratic athletes are subject to drug testing, fines, and possible contract nullification for acting irresponsibly. Diaz needs to decide what he’s more serious about: finishing a box of Oreos, or living up to his potential.