I do not really post much on public forums, but a lot of people I know mentioned to me that people were discussing BJ's new book, and even giving him a hard time about having not read the book. So now I'm posting.
I want to clear a few things up about these books, which I'm sure most of you already know. It's rare the subject of the book will ever actually type/write large portions of the book. Sometimes a subject will write up notes, and the co-author and subject will go over them together, but this is why you have a co-author in the first place.
BJ and I discussed his life for hundreds of hours, starting when I lived in Hilo for many weeks in 2009, to multiple phone discussions, skype chats, and countless texts/emails, etc. As the two of us put this book together, going over it as we went along, large parts of it were exchanged between myself, and Penn. When a final manuscript was put together, BJ went through it again, removing and adding parts he did/didn't want in the text. I have physical copies of these papers with his handwriting all over it. This is how it works.
In other words, BJ Penn without question read his own book, and more than once. He created this book. There is the semantic argument he "never read the book", and yes, that's true, when referring to the actual physical book itself. Under that standard, I've also never read the book. But obviously, we both read the text which became a book.
BJ responded to a Dana White text to him about the book, after White flipped out over it, and suggested he didn't "read the book." He wrote that because he was actually worried something ended up in the book he didn't sign off on. It truly concerned him at first. BJ couldn't understand what White was so livid about it, that he was replying as if he needed to go back and find out what it was. After realizing White was just being his caustic self, and being comfortable with everything in the book, he just blew off Dana's comment. In fact, he has no desire to really address it because he thinks anyone who believes for a second he didn't read his own book is ridiculous. I'm realizing quickly how many people like to dump on BJ (and support).
The part that really bothers ME when I hear stories like this one is how easily people will echo the words of UFC President Dana White after he makes such a statement. The UFC is not promoting the book in any way, and White has obviously done his best to discredit the book itself. For fans to take his words to heart, to actually believe them, is shocking. However, I imagine it's much more of a small loud minority than the majority of interested people who actually do. I would think fans would support fighters over company presidents, but hey, that's just me.
In the end I'm hopeful people enjoy the book. It's as honest a book from a MMA fighter as you're going to read, even if you disagree with the opinion of Penn. This book is not my opinion in any way, even if I lost my job doing freelance work with the UFC because of it. It's BJ Penn's book, and love him, or hate him, I can assure you it's an honest assessment and perspective of his life.
Finally, people have commented that fighters and athletes shouldn't be writing biographies while they're still relevant. I don't completely disagree with this line of reasoning, but with MMA/UFC, a fighter's shelf life is short. If Dan Severin wrote a book right now I wonder how many people would buy it, or if the companies he fought for would promote it. I doubt it. I don't think Kobe Bryant should be writing a book now, but his situation is completely different than a MMA fighter, to use an example.
Because of the nature of MMA, especially when you think about the contentious relationship fighters have with organizations, writing these books is important now. It's not the same in baseball, football, and other large sports, as it is for MMA. Fighters don't have a large voice, especially in the UFC. The organization will always do whatever they can to be bigger than the fighters. Dana White himself has said, "no fighter will ever be bigger than the UFC." With this being the case, you cannot fault fighters who are trying to be heard now, during a time when media will actually pay attention to them.
I am doing a radio show today in New Jersey at 4pm Eastern. It's not MMA based, but mostly news based. However, if anyone has questions regarding this book I would certainly be willing to answer some of them, and would entertain MMA questions about anything. Having spent over 6 years with UFC, I certainly believe I can answer some.
Radio link
Hope those of you who read the book enjoy it. After all, it cost me my job!!!
Thanks,
David Weintraub
